If you intend to sell your home for the best price possible, it’s time to take action. A poorly maintained home can hurt your chances of selling or make you set it at a lower price than expected. Yet, you can increase your home value without breaking the bank.
Some of the most effective strategies for increasing your home’s value are cost-friendly and have a high ROI. In this post, we challenge you to implement at least three strategies to increase home value — and we’re confident your results will be worth it.
1. Get Rid of Pests
Pests can be a major turn-off for potential buyers. They can see holes, nests, and snail trails in your house. Some pests, such as mice, scorpions, snakes, and bugs, can cause diseases. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, bed bugs can cause allergic reactions, secondary infections, anxiety, and insomnia. Other pests, such as termites, can cause property damage, such as wood products.
Before selling your house, you should eradicate all pests. Since you have lived in your house for a long time, you understand common pests in your home and surrounding neighborhoods. Eradicating pests makes you a responsible home seller and thus protects your reputation. You’ll also make your house more appealing to customers, especially if they just viewed a house full of pests.
If you have a significant pest problem, it may not be the best strategy to do DIY pest eradication. It’s best to call pest control services because they have more experience and can handle multiple types of common pests without harming your family through toxic pesticides. They can also write you a report, which you can use to install confidence in a prospective buyer.
2. Upgrade Your Floors
One easy way to decrease your home’s value is to stage it with old, damaged, and out-of-fashion flooring. While the rest of the house is upgraded, an outdated floor will give potential buyers a less-than-cohesive impression. In addition, damaged flooring is a safety hazard to house occupants, which can be a huge turn-off for buyers with multigenerational families.
Upgrading your floors is an excellent strategy to increase home value and make your home more appealing to buyers. The right flooring choice will give the impression of a comfortable, appealing, and safe home. When considering flooring installation, consider cost, durability, and safety features. Also, choose flooring that complements the overall home style.
Since you’re reselling, ensure that any project you invest in can give back in value. A good strategy is working with a professional. They can give suggestions on the best flooring material and give you a warranty that will be handy when selling. Once the flooring has been done and before selling, keep it clean and clear of any abrasive objects that could leave scratches and marks.
3. Improve Your Lawn
Switch sides for a moment: Imagine looking for a home to buy, and you’re met with an unkempt lawn, dying flowers, and soggy gardens. The impression you’d get is that the home is poorly maintained. On the flip side, a well-maintained home is a magnet, letting prospects know your home is worth buying. What’s more, according to HomeLight, you could recoup 267% ROI with regular lawn care.
Improving your lawn is a cost-effective, high-ROI strategy to increase home value and attract buyers. Consider hiring a lawn care company or hydroseeding service to guide you in improving your lawn. They’ll help you assess your lawn’s status and identify vulnerable areas such as bare patches in the lawn, overgrown plants, and weed infestation in the flower garden.
If you’re starting from scratch, be strategic in the type of grass you choose because they have different maturing speeds. You may consider sodding bare patches in a few months to grow a perfect lawn. Depending on your soil type and climatic conditions, you may take specific actions such as soil aeration and adding fertilizer.
4. Repair Your HVAC System
There are three high-priority areas you should focus on to increase home value—curb appeal, functionality, and energy efficiency. Repairing your HVAC system falls into the last two categories. A keen potential buyer will notice the discomfort, the drafts, and the poor airflow. If it’s not the discomfort, it’s the high energy bills. For buyers with asthmatic family members, a faulty HVAC system is a big turn-off.
You can increase home value by repairing, upgrading, or replacing your HVAC system. While there are many DIY projects you can take on successfully, you should leave HVAC work to qualified HVAC contractors. They’re not only experts in the field but can also get you a good deal, warranty, and professional advice.
If you opt for a repair, the HVAC technician will replace damaged components such as the furnace units, air filters, or ductwork. With an upgrade, the whole home can become more energy efficient. Did you know more energy-efficient homes sell more? One Freddie Mac study showed that energy-efficient homes are 3-5% more valuable than similar houses.
5. Take Care of Water Damage
Water damage in a home is hard to hide. It’s a sign of neglect, which can give any home buyer cold feet about buying your house. Buyers are right to avoid houses with water problems. Water damage is troublesome because it can slowly cause structural damage, such as weakening your home’s foundation and encouraging mold growth, a health hazard.
Water damage remediation can significantly increase home value, attracting more buyers. Of course, the first step is identifying the problem source, for example, a leak, and stopping it from further damage. Professional remediation services may help you draft an effective house preparation plan. Once the remediation is over, put in place measures to ensure water damage never happens again.
If you plan on selling your home soon, start inspecting your home regularly for water damage. Sometimes, water damage may go unnoticed until it’s too late. Declutter your basement so it’s easier to notice any water problems. Schedule a roof and attic inspection to ensure your roof doesn’t have any leaks.
6. Get Rid of Dangerous Trees
Did you know that dangerous trees cause death? One study by Kent State University found that wind-related tree failures killed 407 people in 12 years. But that’s not all. Dangerous trees may have sap, fruit, or thorns that can cause blisters and allergic reactions. While buyers may not know if a tree is poisonous, a bending tree and fallen branches are easy to notice.
A tree removal company can help you increase home value by identifying and removing dangerous trees from your compound. Besides toxicity and the danger of falling, trees can pose dangers such as causing electric fires, property damage, pest infestation through tree stumps, and roots that damage the houses’ structural foundation. You can make a home more attractive by removing these trees.
A professional tree service will inspect your compound for trees that pose a risk by position, status, or toxicity. Then they may recommend the best course of action, including uprooting a tree from the ground. Removing dangerous trees is not only good as a sales point, but it’s also a sign of responsible business. If a dangerous tree in your compound injured a buyer or their family when you could have done something about it would be improper.
7. Upgrade Your Tech
Technology is hard to ignore in the modern home. It doesn’t mean buyers will skip your house if you have not updated every system. However, having upgraded tech can be a major selling point. Outdated technology may be unappealing to the modern house buyer who wants smart systems, energy-efficient systems, high-speed internet, and functional home devices.
A home tech upgrade can increase home value and make selling easier. Since it would be impractical to install every available tech, choose a few priority projects and focus on those. A tech expert can help you understand which are the highest priority home tech upgrades in your neighborhood; for example, is a fast-internet the best selling tech aspect?
Once you have settled on the tech projects you want, professionals such as electricians, real estate agents, or tech experts can help you upgrade. For example, they can install home devices, help you find tech specialists to upgrade systems in your home, or share contact with local providers with the right tools you need to upgrade the tech in your home.
8. Inspect Your Roof
Your well-maintained roof can increase curb appeal or reduce the home’s value. A damaged, leaking or deteriorating roof will push away high-value customers. In addition, a problematic roof could be dangerous to the buyer because it can cause structural damage, massive leaks, and safety hazards. Unless the buyer is looking to flip the house, any reasonable buyer will have second thoughts about buying a house with significant roofing problems.
Yet the opposite is true. Inspecting and fixing roof problems can increase home value. According to Zillow, your roof replacement ROI may range between 60 and 70 %, depending on the type of roof. But you don’t have to replace your roof, especially if it’s still in good condition. Instead, schedule a roof inspection to identify any issues that need your attention.
Hire professional roofing services to inspect and identify key areas that need addressing. The report may show that your roof is in good condition except for small problems that can be repaired. Keep inspection records to woo customers and instill confidence in buyers.
9. Repair Masonry
Cracked and damaged masonry does not only detract from curb appeal. It is also a health and safety hazard. Cracks can allow moisture to build up and eventually cause health damage. If the masonry is crumbling or falling apart, the pieces may fall off and cause injuries and property damage.
You may need brick repair or other masonry services to restore your masonry in a good shape. Masonry damage only worsens without intervention, so repairing it will improve safety and functionality and consequently increase home value. In addition, it could increase curb appeal, which is vital for selling a home.
Hiring a professional masonry contractor is a better strategy because their analysis as a professional is more valuable. You can use their final report to instill confidence in a buyer. They may also recommend ways to maintain your masonry before selling your home.
10. Consider Renovations
When selling your home, you may focus on the defensive part of home improvement with repairs, replacements, and upgrades; but you could also consider renovations. Renovations may cost a little more, but some are high-ROI projects and can increase your asking price. Besides increasing home value, functionality, and curb appeal, renovations can improve aesthetics.
Some of the most popular renovations are kitchen and bathroom upgrades, adding extra rooms, renovating the basement, adding a patio, and upgrading the plumbing system. According to Zillow, garage door replacement and minor kitchen remodels are some of the highest ROI home improvement projects, with a recoup of 93.3% and 91.4%, respectively. The minor kitchen may include countertop installs.
Renovations attract more buyers because they give your home a facelift without changing anything. You can even keep records and show a prospective client that you recently upgraded something in the house. The housing market has become quite competitive, and a recent renovation is how you stand out. You can show off your upgraded bathroom, new kitchen cabinets, or refurbished basement.
Are you ready to increase your home’s value? With these ten proven strategies, you can prepare your home for a hot sale. Remember that while there are multiple ways to increase home value, it’s best to start with strategic projects that increase your home’s functionality, curb appeal, and energy efficiency. Don’t wait anymore — start implementing these strategies and watch your home transform into a buyer’s dream.
