5 Ways to Update Your House and Add Value to Your Home

Adding value to your home is imperative if you ever want to sell it one day. You want your home to be worth more than what you paid for it so that you can get a return on your investment. There are several ways that you can update your home to increase the overall value.

1. Make it More Attractive

Curb appeal is king when it comes to increasing the value of your home. You will want to make sure that your yard is the most attractive in the area. Doing things like planting flowers and shrubbery and making sure that your home exterior is clean is important.

Once you have upgraded the outside of your home, you can begin working on making the inside look amazing. Consider painting walls, upgrading cabinets, adding lighting, and more to ensure that the inside of your home is as attractive as possible.

2. Make It More Efficient

Having a green household full of energy-efficient features can greatly help you add value to your home. Consider installing energy-efficient appliances, LED lighting, attic insulation, and double-paned windows to your home to make it more environmentally friendly. You can also consider upgrading your heating and air conditioning system to one that has a high seer rating. The higher the seer rating, the more energy-efficient your unit will be. If you would like to save even more money, consider getting Radiant Heat Panels installed in each room of your home. These can help to save you money on your heating bills each month. You should also consider getting radiant floor heaters that can help to heat your home. If you want to go even further on your energy savings, consider adding solar power to your home.

If you are unsure of where you are wasting energy in your home, you can schedule an assessment with a local certified energy auditor or your local utility company. They will help you to determine what upgrades you can do to help to lower your energy bills.

3. Make Your Home Low Maintenance

Another way to add value to your home is to make it low maintenance. No one wants to purchase a home that is going to need a lot of maintenance. For example, if you have carpet, consider upgrading it to hardwood floors that need less maintenance. If you have wood siding, consider replacing it with vinyl siding that is easy to clean and keep up. The more that you can do to help ease maintenance requirements, the better.

4. Make Your Home Bigger

The more square footage that you have in your home, the better value it will have. There are several different ways that you can add space to your home. These include:

 

  • Deck. You can easily add a deck to the back of your home. This can help to give entertaining space and will make a great selling feature for your home. Just make sure that you are allowed to add a deck before starting construction. You could also consider adding a porch to the front of your home if it is allowed. Adding both a porch and a deck would increase your home’s square footage, helping to increase the value.
  • Basement. If you have a basement, you can add additional value by finishing it. Many people love the idea of having extra space in their basement. Finishing this area can create more entertainment room, extra storage, and more.
  • Expanding. If your kitchen is too small or another room in your home is too small, you can consider expanding on those rooms. Adding additional space to your kitchen can help to increase the value greatly.
  • Adding on a room. If you do not feel that you have enough bedrooms, you can always consider adding a bedroom. Or, if you do not have enough entertainment space, you may consider adding on a den so that you have that space. Another great room to add is an office or even a craft room.

5. Do All Needed Repairs

The last upgrade that you can do to your house to help add value is to ensure that you do all the repairs that need to be done. Putting off repairs can make issues worse and can lead to your home not being valued as highly as it should. For example, if you have a leaking roof, this can cause damage the entire home and cause mold damage. Instead of dealing with a very costly repair down the road, get it fixed as soon as you see it. If your HVAC system or plumbing system needs repairs, doing that immediately will help to add value to your home.

Doing all these things will help you increase your home’s value and help you sell it once you decide to sell.

Katie Gorden

Katie earned a BA in English from WWU and loves to write. She also adores hiking in redwood forests, photography, and a campfire surrounded by friends and family.

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