INCREASING THE VALUE OF YOUR HOME

There is no place like home, so says Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz and that is true for all of us.  Your home is probably one of the largest investments you will make in your lifetime.  So maintaining that property is critical for your investment whether you intend to stay put or sell, the upkeep is still a must for protecting your investment.

Of course, maintaining your property depends on your diligence in maintaining your home.  If you do it every month, then the work and cost is spread over the year, but if you wait until you are having a get together at your home or maybe you want to sell, then you will be frantic in trying to get a year’s worth of projects done at once not to mention the cost factor.

Upgrading your property as your neighborhood changes is something that we all face.  We can’t just move in and expect things to remain as they are.  Maybe it’s time to add on some additional square footage or perhaps you just need a facelift inside your home where you spend the most time.  Experience has taught us that the rooms that will get you more return for your dollar spent on these projects will be the kitchen area, master suite and even adding an extra bedroom.  These updates or renovation can get you a return of up to 80 or 90 cents on every dollar spent when you do sell.  Just try to keep in mind what the homes in your neighborhood are selling for and don’t increase your homes value by 20% unless you realize that the homes in your neighborhood are in high demand and that the face of your neighborhood will be changing by having lots of renovation such as yours going on in your neighborhood.  However, if you are a homeowner looking to sell you may need to look at the renovation process differently.   Buyers who can afford pricier homes will more than likely be looking in more expensive neighborhoods.  So improving your home too much will mean that you might not get the return on your investment.

 If you are looking to improve your lifestyle then the money will be well spent on renovation, however if your are just looking to sell your home immediately or if you are buying and selling for profit, (flipping) then you might want to do simple things like cosmetically updating the colors to neutrals, replace old tired worn carpet, eliminate the clutter and collections that you enjoy surrounding you, maybe replace old windows and perhaps most of all take a look at the curb appeal of your home.

 If your landscaping is tired and dated, maybe just pruning and trimming those trees and bushes can help or just adding fresh flowers to a bed or containers will be all you need but don’t forget the mulching and borders can make a huge difference in the curb appeal.  You might want to take a look at the exterior and see if your home needs pressure washing, new paint or maybe your front door and shutters need new color.  All of this adds up to an attractive home that will excite potential buyers.  Recently, The American Society of Landscape Architects said that good landscaping should return 100 to 100 percent of their cost when a home is sold.  Good landscaping certainly increases the value of your home and will also increase the sale value when you sell your home.

There are a lot of little things you can do around your home that will make a huge difference for potential homebuyers such as changing out the plumbing fixtures in the kitchen and bathrooms, updating your lighting fixtures, ceiling fans, worn door hardware or maybe just polishing the front door hardware.  Maybe you change out the vinyl flooring in the kitchen or bath to ceramic tile for a value that will definitely be returned to you.

Take a look at new homes in your area and see what is appearing and selling in these homes.  You will see the current trends in the marketplace and what appeals to the mass market by doing this little exercise.  You will want to incorporate some of these items into your home without over pricing your home compared to other homes in your neighborhood.

I spoke earlier about kitchens and baths being the place where you would see the greatest return on your dollar invested so take a look at the new homes for ideas in renovating these spaces for you.  There are trends toward granite counter tops, undercounter lighting, natural wood cabinets with maybe a different natural wood island or even an antiqued or painted island for contrast.  Maybe you make the island more custom by making it look like a piece of furniture.  There are so many choices for achieving this new look for kitchens.  Homebuyers also want to see larger pantries, and high end appliances including wider but shallower refrigerators, undercounter refrigerator drawers, toe kicks that have fully extendable drawers for storing flat linen, etc., as well as different height upper cabinets.  Some upper cabinets can have glass shelves and door fronts with recessed lighting.
Warming drawers are a must in most kitchens now as well as the convection microwave, trash compactors and sometimes two dishwashers.  Water filtration systems are making great headway allowing you to have hot water and iced water at your fingertips as well.

Bathrooms are upgrading to nicer plumbing hardware including multi head showers with lots of room for separate or double vanities.  Of course, one vanity should be raised to a height of 36” for the gentleman who is taller and stands at the sink while shaving. 

Have you noticed that as we take over the older neighborhoods with larger homes that the homes are getting larger and the land is smaller?  Land is costing more so getting the most out of your investment and making the most of what you have is definitely becoming a trend.  Outdoor living spaces like outdoor kitchens, private gardens and decks is a really great way to increase the value of your property as well as extend your living space.  Just remember to use the same rule as we mentioned above in not adding more than 10 per cent of your homes worth to the outdoor spaces to make sure you do get that return on your investment.