Home Upgrades

Many homeowners want to upgrade their homes; and why not, doesn’t it raise the value of the home? It can, however, you need to be choosy about what you upgrade in your home. There are, unfortunately, money pit upgrades that will suck your wallet dry and do nothing for the resale value of your home. In this article, however, we will focus on upgrades that can improve the value of your home. Remember, when doing anything home improvement related to consult with a professional first.

Regular Maintenance

Though not an upgrade, regular maintenance is a vital part of preserving a home’s value. There are a lot of problems in a home that could have easily been resolved early on. If you want to save yourself money, and help your home keep some of its value, do regular maintenance. This will make it so that small problems don’t turn into large needed repairs or upgrades later.

Kitchen Upgrades

It is commonly assumed that the kitchen is the most important room in the house. And, as such, it should be the first and most important upgrade on your list. This can come many forms, whether it is a full kitchen remodel, or just a new paint job. The only thing that matters is that the kitchen looks and feels great. Some easy things that you can to make your kitchen more functional and look great as well, is by adding or upgrading your backsplash. There are many ways to do this, the most basic way, however, is to lay them yourself like brick and mortar.

Bathroom Upgrades

Just like the kitchen, bathrooms are vital parts of a home when it comes to upgrading. A home is hard to fall in love with when the bathroom doesn’t look good. Many people don’t like to think about their own bathroom messes, let alone someone else’s. So, it is important that a bathroom looks good for any showing. With some simple upgrades like a new medicine cabinet and mirror, you can easily add value to your home. If you have the money, however, upgrading the counters, tub, or toilet will have drastic results in how your home is received.

Curb Appeal

When it comes to selling a home, curb appeal is vital. If you home doesn’t look good from the curb, you will have a harder time getting people off the curb and inside. However, there are a few things that you can do to make you home a little more attractive from a distance.

The first idea to help your curb appeal is to repaint the outside of your home. Faded pain is instantly a turn off for many prospective buyers, so it is important to make sure that he outside of your home has fresh and vibrant colors to attract more people in. The painting needs to be high quality, however, so make sure that you have a professional do the painting. If you feel competent in your painting abilities, though, you should at least get some advice from a professional to make sure you have all your ducks in a row.

The hardware of your home can also do a lot for its image. If you take the time to replace your door knobs, lamps, and flagpoles etc. you will find that the resale value of the home will rise. Be sure, however, not to put too much money into the hardware, inexpensive, yet nice looking pieces will do.

The other vital part of curb appeal is the landscaping. It is imperative that your landscaping is under control, because, if it isn’t, it will be detrimental to your home’s value. At least, a yard should be freshly mowed, the plants should be trimmed, and any irregularities (for instance dead spots on the grass, broken sprinkler heads etc.) should be fixed. If you have the patience and funding, you could also add to your landscaping with water features, a complete reseeding of the yard, or even adding a flower bed or two.

Add Space

If you have the option of adding space to your home, it would be advised. For instance, if there is a wall that separates the kitchen from the rest of the house, and it can be taken out, see if that would be a good fit for your home. You can also add on to your home with an extra room. This can be a large project, however, so make sure that you have a professional help out. But, whether you are adding a whole new room or just knocking out a wall, make sure that the new space and the old space match—you may need to repaint or redecorate so that the two spaces look like one.

It is also important to follow safety protocols when it comes to doing any sort of remodeling and use a professional remodeling service when needed.

Storage

It may not seem like much, but adding some sort of storage to your home will increase its value. This can be done in many ways. For instance, you could easily add a small shed in the back or side yard, or possibly some shelves in a room or two. If you want to make the new storage space a bit more permanent, you could also have shelves or cabinet installed into the walls themselves. This would not only give the room more storage, but it will not seem like any space has been sacrificed, rather that it’s simply part of the infrastructure.

Window Upgrades

New or upgraded windows can do a lot for the value of your home. One benefit is that with newer, better insulated windows, you can better control the climate in your home. This is because the windows, when properly produced, can keep hot or cold out and the temperature that you want your home to be in. It can also benefit you because it can block road noise and other outside disturbances, allowing you to have a more peaceful home.

Go Green

These kinds of upgrades are popular, and can drastically raise the value of your home. When you make your home more green it will not only be better on your wallet, but on the environment as well. There are many different things that you can do to go green: install Energy Star Appliances, install solar panels, switch your light bulbs to CFLs or LEDS, and many more. Energy Star is an agency that examines appliances and electronics to determine whether they are energy efficient. They do this for computers, refrigerators, and washers and dryers etc. If you are planning on selling your home and appliances, then this is a smart move because the prospective homeowner will be able to start saving money on their energy bills.

Switching lightbulbs to CFLs or LEDs will be energy efficient and cost efficient. This is because these types of bulbs require much less electricity to run so they last much longer. The instillation of solar panels, however, can be much more complicated and costly than the first two options. If you have the money and time to dedicate to a solar panel or two, then by all means, call the installers up today.

Basement Upgrades

Sadly, unfinished basements quite often appear dark and wet at first glance. If you have an unfinished basement in your home, it would be worth your while to have it finished. If that is not in your budget, then it would be advised to at least clean it up and add some storage here and there. This can help with the appearance of the basement and possibly help prospective buyers envision what they could do with the basement when they move in.

These are just a few of the great things you can do to upgrade, and raise the value of, your home. There are more Ideas online. Remember to consult a professional before undergoing any sort of large project and to follow all safety protocols.