Typical blueprint of a residential floor plan; photo courtesy Boereck
This article was updated on 02/21/21.
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When attempting to sell your home or increase your home’s value, it’s not only the larger home improvements, like great room remodeling that make a difference. At times the smaller things will make as much of an impact on potential buyers, realtors, and appraisers.
Regardless of which home upgrades you choose to do, it is important to nail down your construction budget and time management skills.
Curb Appeal — No matter how lovely the interior of your home, if your home has no curb appeal, you’re risking potential buyers simply driving by and passing up your place in lieu of another home with more curb appeal. As always, first impressions matter. For a quick spruce up of the front of your house and yard, why not:
Mow the lawn regularly
Manicure bushes/shrubs
Plant seasonal flowers
Keep trash out of view
Hang a decorative wreath on the front door. Of course, this is particularly effective during the holiday season.
Color — Some families feel most comfortable in a home that's filled with vibrant wall colors. However, when it’s time to put your home on the market, it’s not a good idea to have too many bright colors on the walls.
Neutral tones and muted colors tend to attract buyers, as they tend to see a fresh, clean slate if they were to move in themselves. Any real estate agent will confirm this fact, in fact, they recommend it when they take on a new listing.
There is also a popular color psychology for homes for painting rooms certain colors, as explained in the book, Joy to the Home: Secrets of Interior Design Psychology by Jeanette Joy Fisher.
For example, she recommends painting the kitchen a light color reminiscent of food (i.e. coffee brown, celery green, scrambled egg yellow), and the bedroom something more rich and intimate, like a muted shade of rose.
Clutter (or De-Clutter) — The last thing potential buyers want when they walk through your house is to be bombarded with an over-abundance of personal items and excessive clutter.
From family photos to random knick-knacks on the shelves, a buyer wants to walk into your home and be able to visualize it as their own space.
This is hard to do when your home is full of objects that others may perceive as clutter. No matter how sentimental the items, strangers won’t see it as sweetly nostalgic, but instead as refuse from a second-hand store. To be sure that your home isn’t a culprit of this common pitfall, begin with this:
Store treasured pictures of your family and friends out of eyesight
Limit decorative items and knick-knacks from all horizontal surfaces (i.e. fireplace mantle, living room coffee tables, built-in shelving, etc.)
Remove all magnets, notes, and photos from your refrigerator door
Closets — Part of de-cluttering is ensuring that all your closets are being properly utilized — especially if you don’t have a lot of closet space in your home to begin with. You want to make it look like the closet space available in the home offers plenty of space — even if that's not the case.
As an example, suppose you have a small bedroom closet. Be sure that it isn’t jam-packed with clothing, making it look too small for the room.
Keep your closets organized and even looking sparse (if possible) to give the appearance that there is plenty of room for storage. There are many creative ways to store seasonal clothing.
Crucial spaces — Lastly, the kitchen and the bathrooms of every home are key spaces to focus on when working to increase home value. Even if you can’t afford outfitting your home with new appliances, flooring, or major renovations, there are small things you can do to make a big difference:
Kitchen — The first step to giving your kitchen the added boost it needs is to keep it clean, uncluttered, and looking simple. Something as simple as a new coat of paint always goes a long, long way at an affordable price. As always, ROI is king!
And while you may not want to splurge on updated appliances all at once, brand new fixtures will give the kitchen a fresh brand new look at a fraction of the cost. Also, endeavor to keep the art on your walls to a minimum. Further, remove excess magnets on the fridge (the ones that are not functional for holding notes, etc.) and unused appliances on top of the counter that aren’t being regularly used.
Bathroom — Apply new caulking, grout (be sure to seal it), and a fresh coat of paint to start. Then, replace the old with shiny new fixtures on the sink and in the shower; this is always a money-smart upgrade. A high-powered, luxury showerhead is also a great selling point for any bathroom. rain showerheads are very modern and, oh, so soothing!
Then always add a crisp, new shower curtain, new towels, and a thoughtful touch of fresh flowers or a slightly scented candle for ambiance.
If you’re not trying to increase your home’s equity and value in order to sell it at a reasonable price within a reasonable timeframe, you may be trying to do it in order to get your home appraised at a higher price. It's always a good idea to be current on that figure so you can challenge your property tax. Believe me; I do it successfully every year.
Whatever reason you’re trying to increase your home value, these five fixes may be just what you need to give your property value the boost it needs.
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