Your home is an important investment and home improvements, upgrades and renovations can add tremendous value to your home. Knowing where to put your time and energy is essential to keep costs down while increasing your homes value.

We’ve broken down our top tips to help you discover where to put in the work to help you get the most out of your investment.

Enjoy!

LANDSCAPING

Make a great first impression by increasing your homes curb appeal. A well landscaped yard is one of the quickest ways to increase your homes appeal and make it more attractive to prospective buyers. A great first appearance reduces the time your property sits on the market and instantly increases its value.

Cleaning up the lawn, planting a tree or flowers and making simple modifications to visually incase the square footage of your home.

Our best landscaping tips include:

1. Cleaning up the lawn, planting a tree or flowers and making simple modifications to visually increase the square footage of your home
2. Spruce up the side yard around the house by hiding eyesores, clearing out weeds and laying a clean path to other areas of the yard
3. Add depth to your lawn with a low fence which makes your yard seem larger
4. Build concrete planters, a low stone wall or new paths to enhance the visual appeal of your lawn and home
5. Dig up parts of your lawn and plant flowers to set your house apart from the rest
6. Repair any damage to your driveway or paths around the yard to spruce up your home’s street view
7. Build a small deck and add fresh porch furniture to enhance its appearance
8. Paint or replace the garage door and front door entry to boost curb appeal
9. Add big bold modern house numbers with a modern font that echoes your home’s style to make an impact.

THE KITCHEN IS KING

Experts say the kitchen is the single most important room in the home when it comes to increasing its value. It’s the heart of the home and Investing in a modern, fresh and desirable kitchen will significantly increase the value of your home on the market.

The smartest updates you can make to your kitchen include:

1. Re-facing or painting dated cabinets
2. Replacing dated cabinet hardware (like handles) with a sleek and modern touch
3. Lighting fixtures
4. Quality flooring
5. Appliances
6. Sinks and faucets
7. Fresh paint in neutral colors.

UPGRADE YOUR BATHROOM

Remodelling your bathroom is a great investment which often yields a 100% return. Bathroom upgrades freshen up a home’s interior image and raises it’s overall value. Nothing compares to a fresh and beautiful bathroom that buyers can envision themselves enjoying every day. While there are a lot of upgrades you can do to enhance your bathroom you don’t necessarily have to break the bank doing it. Below are a few cost effective tips to help you get started!

Our top tips for improving your bathroom on a budget:

1. Emptying out the space and clearing up clutter to help make the bathroom appear spacious
2. Make minor updates like repainting the walls, replacing leaky and worn taps, replacing cabinets, light fittings and towel bars make a big difference
3. Clean thoroughly because buyers pay a premium the newer things appear. Everything must be immaculate!
4. Hang luxurious towels to increase your bathrooms perceived value
5. Use fresh flowers to create an impact.

REPLACE YOUR OLD CARPET

Replacing your carpet will make your home look like it’s worth a lot more to potential buyers and will dramatically enhance its appeal. Tear out the old and outdated carpet and update your home with hardwood flooring if you can afford it. Great floors are an upgrade that will hold your houses value over time.

A few great alternatives to carpet includes:

1. Laminate, which is easy to install, eco-friendly and low maintenance
2. Tile, which can withstand heavy foot traffic, water, spills and doesn’t absorb odors or bacteria
3. Bamboo, which is trendy and earthy-friendly, durable and harder than many types of wood
4. Linoleum, which offers a variety of colors and design options that can stand up to heavy foot traffic, water, heat, and scratching which makes it a great durable alternative
5. Vinyl, which is resilient, versatile and economical and comes in a wide range of colors and patterns which mimic hardwood, ceramics and stone on a budget.

Regardless of the flooring you choose, make sure its based on a look, feel and functionality that compliments your home.

CARE & MAINTENANCE

A little care and maintenance around your property can go a long way. Repairing leaks, deep cleaning and refreshing the paint in your home are a few of the many simple things you can do to make a huge impact on your homes value.

Here are a few of our top care and maintenance tips:

1. Reduce energy costs. Not letting your home be an energy hog will increase its attractiveness to potential buyers. Buyers rated "energy-efficiency" as a top priority alongside a "safe community" when searching for a home, take advantage of this
2. Deep clean your home. There is nothing more unattractive than a neglected home. A deep cleaning from top to bottom will renew the appearance of your home making it appear more valuable
3. A fresh coat of paint (we recommend neutral colors) will revive your home and keep it looking its best while defending its surfaces from wear and tear
4. Let in more natural light. The benefits of increasing light in your home go far beyond energy savings. It affects your mind, body, mood and productivity. If possible add more windows, french doors or install roof lights to brighten up the place.

HIRE A PRO

Invest in a good realtor or interior designer to go over any missed opportunities to improve your homes value. A professional will have the experience and exposure to a variety of homes and upgrades to give you the best advice on what will work best to increase your homes value within your budget.

The invaluable insights offered by professionals are well worth it and will help you save time and money in the long run and will get you incredible returns on your investment.

We hope you enjoyed the above tips and suggestions to help increase you homes value. If you have any questions or would like more about any of the above tips, feel free to contact us. We’re always happy to help get you moving in the right direction.

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

-Team Steele