Home Improvements You Should Consider If You Plan To Sell Your Home

Whether you're looking to sell your home soon, or plan to stay there for a little while but know that you will want to sell it eventually, it can be worthwhile to make some improvements. Not only should you make some improvements, but it can be a good idea to make the kinds of changes and do renovations that will add value to your home, overall. If you're looking for surefire ways to not just update or change your home, but also increase its monetary value, too, here are some things to try.

Replace Old Appliances

One of the best things you can do to add value to your home, especially if you plan to sell it in the near future, is to replace old appliances. Doing this can be important whether it's an old refrigerator or a leaky water heater. This is due in part to the fact that appliances are some of the most expensive items in a home, and the quality of the appliances in the house can have a direct impact on overall quality of life for the people that live there. If you don't want to replace old appliances, though, it can also be beneficial to have them serviced. 

Update Your Kitchen

An effective way to boost the value of your whole home is to make updates to your kitchen. Part of the reason the state of your kitchen can have a significant effect on the overall quality of your home is not only because it is the room with the most appliances, but it is often the center of activity for many families. Not only that, but style trends for kitchens tend to change more quickly than other home trends, so a kitchen can end up looking dated far before other rooms in your home do. If you want to have a kitchen that will appeal to buyers, updating appliances and cabinets can be a good move. However, if that is too costly or involved, in many cases simply painting or updating your light fixtures can go a long way to adding a more modern look to your kitchen.

Finish Your Basement

A finished basement is one of the most popular home improvements for a reason. Not only is it one of the main home improvements that can really add value to your house, but it also opens up more square footage and living space as well. When finishing your basement, it can often be a good idea to stick to neutral or light colors to help give the illusion of extra space. Making sure that you install plenty of lighting is a must, as well, since basements don't typically have any natural lighting. Ultimately, light colors and good lighting can make your basement feel like a bright, open space, rather than a dank or closed-off one.

If you don't have a basement that you can easily finish, though, don't despair. When you have a basement that cannot be finished, your focus should then be on fixing any issues like flooding or leaks, as well as making sure any appliances in the basement like your water heater or furnace are in good working order. If your basement appears clean and kept up, it can still hold a lot of potential as a good storage space, and therefore still hold a lot of appeal for buyers.

Go Green Where You Can

Going green isn't just a trend, that businesses and corporations are taking up, it's a lifestyle that is becoming more and more popular, and is impacting single family home design trends and architecture. Going green is becoming more popular in family homes not just because it's beneficial for the environment, but also because it can have money-saving benefits, too, particularly when it comes to energy and other utility bills. Some simple ways to go green are to install energy saving windows, as well as appliances, like washing machines and dryers that conserve water and energy. Additionally, using recycled or green materials while remodeling can be another way to make your home more environmentally friendly.

Install Crown Molding

If you're looking for a simple way to add some class and sophistication to your home, installing crown molding can be a good option. Although crown molding may not fit the style of all homes, if you have an older home or one with vintage-style charm, it can add both appeal and value to your home. Crown molding can also be a great way to add some coziness to tall ceilings or spaces that may feel large or impersonal. It should be kept in mind, though, that crown molding will not work in all spaces, and that crown molding cannot be installed if you have vaulted or slanted ceilings, or in rooms that are irregularly shaped.

Go for a Smooth Ceiling

While popcorn and other types of textured ceilings may have been popular at one point, they have since gone out of fashion, and can make a home appear dated and old. These kinds of ceilings are often undesirable to buyers. This is not only due to their appearance, but also to the fact that some popcorn ceilings contain harmful substances such as asbestos. For these two reasons, removing it and replacing popcorn ceilings with smooth ones can not only make your home look more polished and modern, but it can also prevent a potential buyer from having to be concerned about harmful substances being present in the home. While it is possible to remove popcorn on your own by scraping your ceiling, if you think that there may be asbestos present, getting the help of a professional to remove it can be a safer option.

Coordinate Your Color Schemes

A simple way to make your home look more put together is to coordinate your color schemes. When a potential buyer walks into a home and sees bright green in one room and deep red in the next, they may get the impression that the home is mismatched and less appealing than it actually is. While you may love these colors personally, if you want your home to look good to a potential buyer you need to try to look at your home through their eyes.

While you don't necessarily need to paint every room beige or white, finding ways to coordinate your color schemes and have your colors flow well from room to room can make a big difference in the overall impression that it makes on buyers. Additionally, while you should make sure that your rooms are coordinated, you also shouldn't worry too much about exactly what colors you choose, as many buyers will likely redecorate and paint to suit their tastes once they own the home anyway.

Freshen Up Your Bathroom

Although kitchens can easily look dated and may need most upkeep of all the rooms in your house, bathrooms can come in at a close second. Because there is a lot of water and humidity in a bathroom, it can lead to more damage in a shorter space of time. To ensure that your bathroom looks its best when you go to sell your home, it can be a good idea to do some freshening up.

In some cases, if your bathroom is in good condition and your sink, toilet, and shower or tub are all relatively new, small fixes like a new coat of paint or fresh caulk may be all that you need to improve the overall look of your bathroom. However, if many of your bathroom appliances are old, faulty, or leaking, it may be worth your time to replace them before trying to sell your home. Additionally, don't forget any small issues that need fixed, like a leaking faucet or a rusty mirror. Even though these issues may seem little, they can make your bathroom look dilapidated and unclean, and can have a significant impact on how your bathroom appears.

Switch To Hardwood

While many may still prefer carpeting, home improvement trends are leaning towards hardwood flooring. Increasingly, those buying homes are tearing up carpet to see what's underneath and restoring it. An effective way to make your home appear more move-in ready to potential buyers is to switch to hardwood floors. While it may feel like a labor intensive project, the reality is that while it will require ripping up carpet, sanding, varnishing and sealing, it is not necessarily an expensive home improvement project when compared to other home improvements. If your floors are not suitable for refinishing, you can still jump on the hardwood trend with options like engineered hardwood. Engineered hardwood may be more expensive than refinishing your floors yourself, but the upside is that it will require less work to install them.

Take Care of Small Fixes

Surprisingly, small fixes can make a big difference when it comes to increasing the value of your home. Even though a sticking door latch or a broken section of your gutter may not seem significant, these little issues can add up and make your home look run down. Not only that, it could make it appear to be more of a fixer upper than it really is, and could have potential buyers focused on what they'd need to fix if they were to buy your home, rather than all of its other great aspects. So, if you're looking for fast fixes that can give your home a major boost in appeal, taking care of small issues can be a good way to go.

Include New Technology

When you're updating your home, you may be tempted to go with the cheapest possible option, or a basic model of an appliance or fixture, especially since you may be planning to move soon. However, making upgrades and including new technology in your home can be a simple way to boost your home's appeal to buyers. The technology you opt for can take different forms, whether you go all out and do something like install smart appliances in your whole kitchen, or convert your home to a smart home, or do something small like switch out your old thermostat for a digital one. Whether you go big or small with these kinds of updates, it can be a good way to catch the eye of forward thinking and tech savvy buyers.

Update Your Lighting

Another easy way to make your home look more modern and appealing is to update your lighting. In some situations, you may want to add more lighting to rooms that are small, dark, or don't get much natural light. However, in many cases you may not need to do this, and simply switching out a dated-looking light fixture may be enough. As with color schemes, it can be a good idea to try and coordinate the lighting in your home as well. If you put a modern looking pendant light in one room, it will probably not be a good idea to put a large victorian style chandelier in the next. Having updated lighting is important, but making sure that your lighting is consistent and coordinated throughout your home can be even more so.

Landscape Your Lawn

While there is a lot to do inside of your home to make it appealing to buyers, that doesn't mean that the outside should be neglected. In fact, an unkempt lawn or exterior could turn off a potential buyer before they even get the chance to see what the inside of your home is like. The good news is, though, that you don't always have to go all out with your landscaping to help boost your home's appearance. In many cases, simply keeping your lawn mowed and your shrubbery neat and trimmed can go a long way. However, if you're looking to take it up a notch, small things like a stone fire pit or a flower bed can really take your lawn to the next level without requiring major effort.

Update Your Exterior

Your lawn isn't the only part of your house that can make or break your chance to make a good first impression on a potential buyer, the overall exterior of your house makes a difference, too. The first thing you should do is make sure that the outside of your home is free of any obvious damage, like broken porch railings or chipping paint. After that, it can be a good idea to assess how dated or modern the outside of your home appears. While some may think it's a lot of work to make changes to the exterior of their home, the reality is that making the outside of your house look better can be as simple as installing a new front door, or trying something like a stone veneer.

Install New Windows

New windows can be a great way to not only improve the way your home looks, but it can also help improve the general quality of life in the home as well. Old windows that are cracked or that leak air can not only make a home look dilapidated, but it can also mean more exposure to the weather as well as higher energy bills. Naturally, all of these things can be major detractors for buyers. Installing new windows throughout your home will not only help it to look more sleek, polished and updated, but it will also mean better temperature control in the home, and lower bills, too.

Replace Your Siding

Another important factor in having a put-together looking exterior is having new siding. Chipping paint or weathered siding can be a major detractor, and can cause a potential buyer to have a negative view of the home right off the bat, no matter how good of shape the home is in otherwise. This can also be true of dated house colors or dirty siding as well. For those who have siding that is relatively new, it may not always be advisable to replace it. In these situations it may make more sense to power wash your home, instead.

Get a New Roof

If you want potential buyers to feel like they're making a good investment in a well-cared for home, replacing your roofing can be a good way to go. Roofing, if you have asphalt shingles, typically needs to be replaced every 10 to 15 years. Because of the frequency at which it needs replaced, and the expense, some potential buyers may be put off by an old roof and the prospect of having to replace it. Not only that, but old roofing can mean ceiling leaks as well as increased exposure to the weather.

If a roof leaks and allows water inside the home, this can mean widespread water damage that can be costly to fix, especially if it has been going on for a while. When the air from outside is more able to seep into your home, this not only means that it will be less comfortable, but also that your energy bills will be higher, as well. When redoing your roof, if you cannot afford to replace it completely, repairing damage or weak spots can still be beneficial. If you choose to replace it, it can be a good idea to look into newer forms of roofing that have a longer lifespan than asphalt, like metal roofing.

Add a Deck or Patio

A new deck or porch can be a cost effective way to add interest to the outside of your home, and value, too. If you already have a deck, showing it some love by refinishing it can be a good move. If you don't have one or the one that you have is old or falling apart, installing one or replacing it should be your next step. Also, the good news is that you don't have to go all out when it comes to adding a deck. In many cases, even a small wood deck can value and style to your home. Additionally, if you aren't able to add a deck, updating or installing a patio area can be a great way to add charm to your outdoor living area.

Show Your Garage Some Love

When you're selling your home, you're not just selling your house, but the whole property. Potential buyers are not only going to be looking at your home and trying to envision a life there, but they will also be looking at your outbuildings, and your garage in particular when trying to decide if your home is going to be a good lifestyle fit for them. So, even though you may think of a garage as a utilitarian area, that doesn't mean that it doesn't need some upkeep, too. This can be particularly true if you have issues like a broken garage door, which can be a major inconvenience. Even though improvements made to a garage may not always have the obvious visual appeal that other home improvements do, making sure that it's clean and taken care of can make a big difference when it comes to appealing to potential buyers.

Some Last Thoughts

Whether you plan to sell your home within the next few months, or intend to stay there for years but know that you will be selling it eventually, it can be a good idea to start making home improvements that will help boost its appeal to buyers. Also, it's important that you don't make just any changes, but changes that will add value to your home.

When you make value-boosting changes, you're not only helping to ensure that you will have an easier time selling your home, but also that you can make back more of your money when you do. So, whether you have an older home that needs a major overhaul, or a newer one that just needs a few tweaks, taking some time to make the right changes can make a big difference for you.