The value of a home often appreciates or depreciates based on prevailing property market rates. However, even in a seller’s market, the quality of maintenance standards that you put into your home can make the difference between earning either great sale offers or much lower prices.
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Of course, maintaining a home is not a one-off event but a consistent habit of making sure that everything is in good shape. Nevertheless, if you get a chance to renovate your home from time to time, it is best to always do so with the resale value of your home in mind. More so if you foresee the possibility of selling your home down the line.
In this blog, we highlight some of the key aspects of renovation to focus on and how to ensure they meet the value check. Let’s dive in, shall we?
Curb Appeal
Maintaining the exterior look of your home may seem vain but it is not. On the contrary, leaving your lawn, porch, or exterior paint unattended is a cardinal sin in real estate. Worse still, it does not only affect the value of your home but that of the neighborhood too.
Here is why:
Property value is partially driven by how much people are willing to pay for housing in various areas. The more coveted a location, the higher the prices are likely to be. So, when a series of houses look dilapidated, it does not necessarily make most people want to live there. This can in turn drive down property prices. It is also why most neighborhood associations have rules about exterior and lawn maintenance.
Subsequently, whether or not there are rules in your neighborhood, it behooves you to regularly repaint the exterior of your home, keep the lawn manicured and in good condition, and perform maintenance on your porch or entryway.
Interior Decor Upgrades
Most people envision hefty budgets at the mention of interior design upgrades. Yet, in reality, you can make interior decor changes on an average budget and still make a significant impact.
Visiting home improvement stores can help you get a few ideas on how to achieve a great interior design theme. You can also look up hotel interior design ideas as they are usually put together by professionals with unique ideas that you can borrow.
Prioritize aspects of your interior design that are either damaged or visibly dated. This could include:
- Repainting walls
- Replacing damaged window panes, locks, taps, or bathroom tiles
- Replacing damaged flooring
- Performing maintenance checks on your plumbing systems, insulation systems, and gas pipe systems
Once these crucial bits are done, you can then move on to other less dire aspects like installing new kitchen cabinets or upgrading showers.
Get Modern Upgrades
Old fittings can be endearing but they can also be unreliable, increase the cost of running your home, or simply not fulfill the needs of modern living. It is thus wise to either try and improve them or replace them with more modern upgrades.
Home appliances, for example, like a trusty cooker that has been in the family for generations may have immense sentimental value. However, it may be grossly energy inefficient. It may thus be worth it to get an upgrade like an induction cooker and only use the older version on special occasions.
The goal here is not necessarily to rip out everything that is dated (unless you want to). Rather it is to make your home modern enough to be convenient and have the highest level of functionality and cost-effectiveness.
Invest in Sustainability
Sustainable homes are the future and a major selling point for most people now. They feature provisions such as:
- Solar energy
- Fittings made using sustainably sourced materials like reclaimed wood
- Eco-friendly waste disposal
- Layouts that maximize the use of natural light to minimize the use of electricity
- Energy-efficient appliances
- Energy-efficient lighting
The changes you can make here will depend on your budget. If you have enough to spend, embracing all the options above and more would be ideal and can improve both the value of your house and your quality of life. In contrast, if you are working on a budget, you can start with more affordable changes like energy-efficient lighting and appliances then gradually add the rest.
Work on Your Bathrooms
Bathrooms can get rather unsightly over time due to water damage, grout stains, and general wear and tear. In some cases, a deep cleaning session can solve this but where possible, renovating the bathroom is a much better solution.
Consider:
- Getting new and better bathroom tiles with anti-slip texture
- Installing new toilets that are water efficient
- Installing bathroom vanities for both functional reasons and the classy aesthetic that they provide
In Conclusion
Considering resale value during renovation does not mean that you have to sell. You also do not have to make any changes that you do not want to make. It is simply a contingency that will reward you if and when you choose to sell. Still, whatever you decide, you get to either enjoy an improved version of your home or make a sale profit. Win-win.
