Spring is on the way, with clear days, sunshine, and wonderful opportunities to spotlight your property and its curb appeal—along with the chance to add thousands to your property value and make that sale!
To help you maximize that appeal, here’s a checklist of upgrades to your home that are relatively inexpensive (most of those listed here can be accomplished for well under $1,000), but that can add significant property value and return on investment. Just a few of the simple Spring fixes below can increase your property’s value, for example, by one to four percent, and all before the prospective buyer ever enters the home.
1. REPLACE YOUR FRONT DOOR.
A beautiful new front door—preferably one that’s reinforced steel—will not only immediately add immediate curb appeal, it’s also a bonus to home safety (and insurance rates), as well as to air quality. To stretch your budget, you can also simply do a nice repaint of the door instead.
2. ADD A NEW COAT OF PAINT.
A new paint job for the entire interior of the property (after covering and filling imperfections or holes in drywall) is a time-honored, popular and accepted method of adding newness and brightness to a home and instant appeal to homebuyers. However, don’t stop there. An exterior paint job can give new life to a home’s appeal, emphasizing its best features and providing home shoppers with a pleasing first glimpse of your property at its best. Just don’t indulge yourself in crazy shades and keep color choices tasteful and neutral.
3. UPGRADE YOUR GARAGE DOOR.
Your home’s garage door can take up as much as 35 to 40% of a property’s overall façade. It’s no wonder, then, that a new garage door is one of the best ways to increase a home’s visual impact while also increasing return on investment (as noted in the 2016 “Cost vs. Value” report in Remodeling magazine). A new garage door also adds safety and security, and upgrading to an automatic versus a manual garage door is a big plus with home shoppers, according to many experts.
4. INSPECT, CLEAN AND PAINT MOLDINGS, BUILT-IN BOOKCASES AND TRIM.
Moldings can help to frame a room and show off its bones. Clean and neatly paint your moldings to show off a room at its most beautiful.
5. PROFESSIONALLY CLEAN YOUR WINDOWS (INSIDE AND OUT).
It’s amazing the effect clean and sparkling windows can have on the appeal of a property. From outside, they twinkle in the sun and provide a pleasant introduction to the home itself. From inside, and framed only minimally with draperies or blinds (keep them open when buyers visit) they maximize light and air, contributing to an overall impression of warmth and cleanliness.
6. CLEAN CARPETS.
Far too many overlook this simple, easy way to show off a home to its best advantage, freshen up for Spring, and give new life to old carpets when the budget doesn’t allow for them to be replaced outright. This task also contributes to overall air quality and can make a huge difference in homes where smoking or pets were also a factor.
7. INSTALL A NEW HVAC SYSTEM.
A new HVAC system improve air quality and energy efficiency, and can add tangible value to your home’s asking price. It’s also a great way to add an instant edge if you find your home competing with others in your area.
8. FIX AND REPAIR EXTERNAL GATES AND FENCES.
This is a repair that is both useful cosmetically, as well as being a big plus for home shoppers who are both safety-minded or who may be pet owners. You may also want to consider adding on a fresh coat of paint or varnish.
9. UPGRADE OR INSTALL EXTERNAL MOTION SENSOR OR SAFETY LIGHTING.
According to many industry pros, now more than ever, the biggest single concern for most homeowners today is safety, so visible and tasteful, well-installed external lighting will go a long way toward giving home buyers peace of mind.
10. UPGRADE YOUR WATER HEATER.
By upgrading to a better (and professionally installed) water heater, you’ll not only be adding to your home’s safety features and energy consumption, you’ll also be adding one more highly desirable element for today’s home shoppers.
If you need help accomplishing these tasks, or want to find a Home Repair Professional to assist with them, the SERVIZ app can be a great resource. Meanwhile, just a few of these basic home repairs and upgrades can be worth their weight in gold for home sellers and real estate pros, and can increase the value of your home overall by potential thousands.
As the Spring sunshine returns, there’s never been a better time to add value to your investment. So what are you waiting for?
