4 Clever (and Affordable) Ways to Instantly Add Value to Your Home

Spring is the start of the real estate swing, but you don’t have to be selling your house to use these clever (and affordable) tips to instantly add value to your home. With a new and more comfortable home, you can increase your selling price or rent price. Need help selecting a price for your home? Give us a call! And did we mention that we do FREE virtual home tours?

Cabinets

DIY: Remove and replace your cabinet fronts or hardware as an easy way to make your kitchen and bathrooms look more modern in just a few hours. Other ideas include adding pull-out drawers to the cabinets for better storage, a beautiful peel-and-stick backsplash, and under-cabinet lighting.

Professional: Resurface, paint, and/or replace your cabinetry: Without having to remodel your whole kitchen and bathroom, you can make it look new with an upgrade to the cabinets. Resurfacing or painting the cabinets can add considerable market value without breaking the bank.

Cleaning

DIY: A fresh coat of paint goes a long way to make the home feel like new. While you’re prepping those walls, run a duster over the fans, polish those floors, and clean the grout on tile floors (pro tip: use toilet bowl cleaner – the spout draws perfect lines on the grout and it’s easy to mop clean.)

Professional: Power wash the siding of the house, sidewalks, and driveway to remove YEARS of dirt. Seriously, it’s amazing the transformation a little cleaning can do. While you are out there, do some light landscaping: trim your plants, manicure that lawn, remove dead vegetation, hide the hoses, and spend early Spring making everything look pristine from the outside to inside. Have we mentioned our love for lighting? Install some solar lights along the trees and flowerbed for an affordable and GORGEOUS upgrade to the look of your home.

Open Space

DIY: Take a 360 view of the room and see if your furniture setup is working for you. Repeat after us: simple is better and more appealing. Go minimal: do not overcrowd for more seating area. Get creative about your storage with open shelving rather than bulky entertainment units. Buyers/renters are looking for neutral colors, clean surfaces, and minimal window treatments.

Professional: Want to add major value to your space? Knock down some of those walls to create an open concept floor plan. It’s not as intimidating as it sounds; even opening up a doorway wider can add major space concept to a living area that will WOW your guests.

Smart Technology

DIY: Replace face plates and wall switches with USB plugs; take it one step further by replacing those cheap plastic covers with more elegant wood, ceramic, or metal plates for a more aesthetic appeal. Swap out your old light fixtures and refresh your faucets (kitchen and bathrooms) while you’re at it.

Professional: Smart thermostats, lighting, keypad entry, security system, and fire detectors are a major turn-on to modern buyers and renters. Step it up and go for energy-efficient appliances like the dishwasher, washer & dryer, and smart refrigerator.

Read our article on Luxe-Landlord: Upgrading your home to appeal to luxury renters to get some more creative ideas for increasing the value of your property.