When it comes to real estate negotiations, homeowners are always looking for the best price for their houses. After all, it’s not easy to part ways with a home you’ve spent years in and decorated based on your style preferences. But not all properties come with excellent resale value.
With that said, with some of the best home improvements before selling, you can ensure that your property generates a handsome resale value. It’s all about remodeling the space, meticulously performing all scheduled maintenance, and thinking about the little things that will make a difference and make your home stand out in the real estate market.
So, without any ado, let’s take a look at the best home improvements to make before selling your house!
12 Best Home Improvements to Make Before Selling Your Property
Here are the best home improvements you can make before selling your space:
1. Spruce Up Your Kitchen
Kitchens are an undeniably valuable asset in any home, and when designed to perfection and with all the right appliances, they can boost the reselling value of your property. It’s why you have to include kitchen maintenance and remodeling in your pre-sale home improvement projects.
Kitchens are especially more valuable to homeowners today as many people have taken an active interest in cooking since COVID-19. The lure of baking artisanal breads and whipping Dalgona coffee is enough to make prospective homeowners look for a home with a more-than-functional kitchen. However, if that kitchen is newly renovated and houses upgraded appliances, the interest will undoubtedly be tenfold.
Depending on your vision and budget, you can aim for a minor or major kitchen remodeling. A minor remodeling will entail re-facing the drawers and cabinets, laminating the countertops, investing in new cooktops, sink, and other fixtures, and updating the lighting. You can also sand and paint the existing cabinets instead of buying new ones.
If you want to remodel your kitchen entirely, you will need to buy a new island, cabinets, countertops, wall oven, cooktop, flooring, and appliances. Even though it will certainly cost more than a minor remodeling job, it will raise the value of your home considerably. Considering making the space airier and using it creatively. You can also choose to build an eat-in kitchen.
2. Give Your Bathroom a Makeover
Depending on how badly it needs to be renovated, you will have to give due attention to your bathroom. If you think a minor remodeling will do the trick, try to replace the tub, floor, toilet, tiles, sink, and other fixtures. You will need to recaulk the space and perform all due maintenance services. Remove any dated wall coverings and apply a new coat of water-resistant paint. Remove old shower curtains and doors.
Alternatively, if you have the budget, you can go for a significant bathroom revamping. Depending on the size of the existing space, you can aim to expand it for a more luxurious look. It might involve changing the location of the established fixtures, which will cost a lot. To ensure comfort and a contemporary look, invest in the right linen, faucets, sinks, toilet, floor tiles, etc. Buy a new countertop for the vanity for a fresher look.
3. Invest Yourself in a Landscaping Project
There’s something unquestionably charming and downright irresistible about landscaped homes. The neatness and elegance of these properties are attractive and make you want to move into them right away. It’s exactly how you want prospective buyers to look at your home!
So, talk to local gardeners and landscapers and relay your landscaping vision to them. Make sure to also communicate your budget so that you don’t end up spending more than you can afford. The right splash of color in front of your house will invite the ideal prospective buyers to your doorsteps. If you’re looking for optimal impact, choose one color tone and plant trees and plants with varying heights.
However, don’t go overboard with the greenery and take great care to keep it maintained. You want your place to appear inviting and not look like an old, abandoned manor from a Halloween movie. So, invest in a gardener who knows what they’re doing. Replace overgrown plants with delicate flower beds, foundation plants, and smaller trees for a charming look. You can also add a fountain and a walkway to boost the value of your property.
4. Build a Home Office
It might seem like a significant home improvement project to take up before selling your property, but it is well worth it in the long run. Especially today, during the COVID age, many people are still working from home. Even you might have had to attend countless zoom meetings from your room!
However, many of us have had to scratch our heads to find the ideal background for our meetings. We certainly don’t want our pets, kids, or even spouses to interrupt us or come into the frame by accident. In such a climate, a home office has become one of the most sought-after additions or amenities in a home. With a home office, you are essentially offering remote workers the opportunity to work peacefully from home in their little, cozy, and practical corner of the house.
5. Revamp the Outdoor Look
As humans, we tend to focus a lot on our outward appearance. However, I cannot say the same about how we treat the outdoors of our homes. People rarely invest in beautifying the outside of their home, and it puts them at a disadvantage when selling their property. The truth is that even smaller home improvement projects can elevate the entire look of your home from the outside.
Apart from adding colorful pots and planters, you can invest in flattering lighting fixtures, weatherproof paintings, and an inviting gate for your home. If your porch railings are rickety or creaking, get them fixed so that they look attractive and are safe. Beautify your deck with treated, finished wood.
Moreover, you can invest in weatherproof paint to coat the façade of your property. Use paint color cards to choose the right shades for the doors, trims, and sidings. If your house is old, test for lead before scraping. Invest in new sidings and other fixtures. You can also remove old awnings from your windows and doors and invest in contemporary ones.
6. Beautify the Living Room
The living room is one of the most popular spaces in any home. Most of us have a few fond memories of spending quality time with our families in these cozy spaces. Depending on the kind of buyers you want to attract, your living room should have a specific ambiance. For instance, if you want to grab the attention of families, you need to create an inviting, comfortable, and warm space.
However, if you want your home to attract singles or working individuals with no kids, you need to create a more modern, perhaps minimalist space with ample lighting. The first step is to paint the room in a light, neutral color. You can brighten the paint with the right high-gloss trim. Moreover, you can also paint one wall in a brighter color to add some contrast and depth to the room.
Additionally, you will need to invest in high-quality hardwood floors. If you already have such floors, you can hire professionals to sand them and then stain and seal them for a new look. You will also need to either remove the old carpeting and replace it or have it professionally cleaned if it’s in perfect shape.
7. Don’t Ignore the Basement
Most homeowners notoriously ignore basements. However, a neglected basement can end up costing you a lot at the end of the day, especially since it will bring down the resale value of your property. The best home improvements before selling the house will include a thorough revamping of your basement, depending on how much work it needs.
The first step is to look for signs of mold since the fungus loves growing in damp, stuffy areas and basements check both the boxes. Mold is a huge possibility if you have piles upon pikes of storage and dirty carpeting in your basement. Once you have checked every inch of the space, have it thoroughly cleaned and ventilated.
Then, depending on your budget, you can work on revamping the entire space. You can turn it into a bar, a playroom, or even an extra kids’ room. Depending on your vision, invest in a laminated or protected floor, recessed lighting, and other necessary fixtures. Don’t forget to refresh the paint on the walls. Keep the drywall panels a half-inch away from the floors to prevent them from absorbing moisture.
If the space has faced flooding problems in the past, add bigger gutters and French drains and re-slope the yard to keep the water away from the basement. Test the fixes to ensure everything is operational. To prevent cold floors, add a modular subfloor to your concrete floors. You can also invest in carpet squares for a cozy look.
8. Replace Those Windows
When remodeling your home to increase its resell value, don’t forget about the often overlooked windows. A broken or chipped window can certainly make an interested buyer averse to buying your property or ask for a lower rate. Decide on a budget for the windows and then find the ones that fit within that budget.
If you live in a relatively hotter area, invest in Low-E glass windows that reflect the heat. You can also add argon gas inside the pane to avoid heat and cold exchange within the window. Regardless of the climate, make sure the windows are weather-resistant and durable. Also, try to find large windows to allow light to flood the indoor space. The windows must also match the overall ambiance of your home instead of disrupting the entire look.
9. Roof & Floor Maintenance Check
Don’t focus so much on significant remodeling that you forget about the necessary home improvement projects. Yes, I’m talking about the roof and floor maintenance. When you’re living in a house, you tend to neglect the obvious or minor repairs on a day-to-day basis until they end up costing you a lot. It’s a pretty common yet entirely avoidable human folly.
However, it can end up costing you in the long run as it will affect the resale value of your home. To avoid this from happening, make sure you upgrade and maintain all your systems, including air conditioning, heating, and plumbing. It will ensure that your roof and floor don’t get damaged due to bursting pipes, short-circuiting wires, and other such issues.
Moreover, don’t delay any roof and floor repairs. If you find cracks in your ceiling or gaps within your floor tiles, get them fixed right away before the issue gets out of hand. Maintain and clean the gutter system that runs alongside your roof. If you have the money, revamp the entire floor with new hardwood flooring or chic, contemporary tiles to make the rooms appear brighter than before.
10. Break into Fresh Paint
You would be amazed at how much of a difference fresh paint can make to the appearance of your home. When living in a house, we customize the look based on our likes and aesthetic preferences. It often includes choosing distinctive colors for our living space. However, not everyone is a fan of bold, bright, statement-making wall paint and wallpapers.
Moreover, you don’t want prospective buyers to witness ink, hand, or pencil stains, unsightly marks, or even cracks on your walls. If you wish to improve the resale value of your home, you will need to invest in fresh paint for your walls.
Compared to other major home improvement projects, upgrading your house walls with fresh paint is a small expense. Choose more neutral, lighter hues that will appeal to a large number of prospective buyers. Lighter colors also allow buyers to envision the space with their furniture without the colors clashing with the wall paint. Just make sure to choose a high-quality, stain-resistant, crack-proof paint that emphasizes natural light.
11. Give Some Love to Your Garage
Garages are often neglected spaces in a home environment. However, considering that many people take up and fulfill their passion projects inside a garage, you will benefit from remodeling yours before selling the property. Even if you don’t have the budget to revamp the entire garage, you need to upgrade the garage door at least.
It will significantly boost the curb appeal of your home and will set the right first impression on the buyer even before they enter your house. A modern garage door can make an old house appear new right away. Make sure to shop for a durable replacement made from steel, aluminum, or wood composites. If the garage is attached to your home, ensure the door is insulated and features an energy-saving glaze to reduce your utility bills.
Choose a door that isn’t overly bold so that it takes the attention away from the rest of your home or is too understated so that it doesn’t deliver the right impact. An impactful door will match and elevate your house’s overall appeal and make it truly stand out. If you have the budget, you can also paint the inside of the garage, invest in better, more durable shelves or cabinets, and install better lighting fixtures.
12. Additional Best Home Improvements to Make Before Selling the Property
Here are some more home improvement projects you can take up before selling your property to increase its resale value:
- Focus on improving or replacing everyday hardware, such as doorknobs, light fixtures, switches, AC thermostats, and more. Invest in modern and durable fixtures that will attract potential buyers.
- Invest in energy-efficient equipment for the property and look into renewable energy sources to cut down on the utility bills, which will improve the value of your home.
- If you plan on leaving appliances in your home, make sure to update them so that they are modern and top-quality.
- Update the HVAC system so that it’s clean and functional. If you don’t have one, I highly recommend updating your home with a ductless air conditioning system to increase its value.
- Insulate your attic before selling the property. It will ensure instant cost savings in monthly utility bills, making your property more valuable.
- If you have the budget for it, add a stone veneer to the outside walls of your property for a luxurious, modern look. It will give the appearance of natural stone without costing a lot.
- You can also replace the old front door of your property with a brand new, minimalist, durable one. It will set the right first impression on prospective buyers and set the right tone for the rest of your house. Red is a popular, bold color for the front door, but it needs to be paired with a minimalist exterior. A steel door is energy-efficient and secure.
The Bottom Line
It can be difficult to part ways with your home, a place you spend years furnishing to suit your style and needs. However, at the same time, you want to receive a good resale profit to ensure that all your effort doesn’t go to waste. The home improvement projects I’ve mentioned above will certainly help you generate an excellent resale value for your property whenever you decide to sell it.
