There are so many ways you can save money and improve your financial health and of course some of those strategy’s take time. I was talking to buddy of mine a few days back and he was telling me he has tried everything to save money and while most of the strategies have worked for him, he came up with one on his own that he feels would be a better bet. His plan is to sell his house and re-invest the profits into a smaller home – Easier to heat, less up keep, less electrical necessities etc. During our conversation I mentioned to him about doing some home improvements that add value to the home. After all this should bring in a higher selling price which should increase profits.
A few months went by before I could catch up with him again but when I did, he shocked me with his news. He was telling me he finished the renovations I had given him the idea to do, and the total cost was approx $40,000 but the cool part was his house value has increased by $60,000 according to a professional appraiser – that is a profit of $20,000. That is a huge increase in value so I had to ask what he did to improve the value.
Here is what he advised to do when you want to improve your home’s worth or prepare to sell – Even if you did one of these you would see a difference:
1. Re-do the bathroom. According to the statistics, you’re most likely to get the largest percentage of return of your investment with a bathroom remodel. So anything you do to update or re-do your bathroom will increase your home’s value. Here is a few ideas:
- If you have just one bathroom, add another one to your home.
- You can improve buyer interest by installing double sinks in the master bath.
- If your bathrooms are in pretty good shape, consider adding some specialty tile.
- A quick and inexpensive fix to get your bathrooms up to snuff is to install new faucets and other fixtures.
2. Remodel the kitchen. Undergoing a kitchen remodel is another way to earn back a higher percentage of your remodel investment upon the sale of your home. If you can’t do a thorough remodel or you don’t need it, consider these suggestions:
- Replace old appliances and lighting with new energy efficient appliances and lighting.
- Re-face cabinet doors.
- Install tile floors.
3. Add or re-create functional space. Think about how you can add functional spaces to your home:
- Build on a family room to grab potential buyers’ attentions.
- Turn space you already have in a basement into a family room or bedroom suite.
- Remodeling your attic into a huge master suite greatly enhances your home’s value.
4. Make energy-efficient changes. As the public’s interest in living green grows, think about installing or adding energy efficient changes throughout your home inside and out:
- Switch out all your windows to energy efficient ones.
- Installing a new roof is a great way to help your home’s value and save dollars for heating and air conditioning.
- If you really want to appeal to those interested in saving the planet, installing solar panels to provide solar energy will definitely improve your home’s worth.
These are the top home improvements that add value and beautify your home. Worst case scenario, lets say you don’t sell after all, you now have increased your pleasure while living in your newly renovated home as well you have made it more valuable and attractive to potential buyers if you should decide to sell it.
