When you are looking at the overall value of your home, there are many different aspects to take into consideration. You would be surprised at what a small tweaks will make to increase the overall value of your home. One of the most important parts is to make your house look more complete and homey. When you have pictures and family ties within your home it adds appeal to your home. When potential prospects come to your home, you will get a much higher bid when the bidders can picture their family living there through the layout of your home.
Kitchen
The kitchen has remained the heart and soul of every house for decades. It is the most important room and home buyers go straight to the kitchen upon entering the house. Depending on your budget, there are many options to spruce up the kitchen to add tremendous value. If you are on a tight budget, replace the cabinet handles and ensure all of the light fixtures are working. Upgrade the light fixtures to be used with energy efficient bulbs.
If you have the extra money, give the cabinets a complete face lift and replace the countertops if necessary. Paint over them and give the kitchen a new, clean look rather than a run down, mis-matched compilation of door handles and counter faces.
If you are fancy yourself a carpenter than do the projects yourself. Otherwise it is the best idea to hire someone to do the work for you. It may cost more up front, but they will not only be able to ensure that everything will look great, but they will also clean up the mess that it takes to put everything in.
Appliances
The appliances in the kitchen are also among the most important aspects in any household. When attempting to sell a house, one of the first things that prospective buyers notice are the appliances within the kitchen. If your refridgerator, stove, dishwasher, even the microwave are outdated, it is highly advisable to replace them. If they are up to date, make sure the face plates match. Unless it goes with the style and look of the kitchen, you should not have a black stove with a white refrigerator, and a gray microwave as well (in fact, those should never be in the same kitchen regardless).
Bath Room
After the kitchen, the bathroom is one of the most important parts of the house in order to increase the value of the home. Luckily, you can fully upgrade your bathroom without having to spend a fortune in the process. Simply by replacing a sink or a toilet cover, you can transform the bathroom into a modern marvel.
Unfortunately, if the bathroom tiles are dirty, it will take away from the entire room regardless of the renovations done. Strip the tiles or put them through a deep cleanse along with the grout. It can really bring the entire bathroom together.
Outside Appeal
The yard and outside of a house are the first impression you get to give to potential buyers. It is vital to make sure it is in tip-top shape. That does not mean you have to hire a landscaper to come in and completely redesign your gardens or trees in order to get a higher bid. It does mean that you should make sure the grass is cut and looking great. If you have your old car up on concrete blocks in the back yard, it is highly recommended to remove it before the next open house.
If you have extra money to spend on beautifying your house, you should reconsider hiring a landscaper to redesign your front lawn or hire a contractor like Storm Guard Roofing to fix anything that might have wear and tear. Typically your yard could receive a face lift for relatively cheap, and most landscapers are willing to work with you in terms of plants that are within your budget.
Front Door
After the potential buyers pass by the front lawn, they approach the front door. It is an incredibly cheap fix, but one that often gets overlooked by the residents. Most residents use their garage doors or back doors for entry into their own house against the front door.
Many people prefer the new basic steel front doors to the wooden doors of the past. They can be easily primed and painted to give them a blending look to the rest of your house. It is a solid door that will not be easily kicked down, but can be decorated to be elegant and beautiful. It is inexpensive to paint and can be done within a few hours. This is a good way to upgrade your home.
Make sure the door is painted and has a solid, stable door handle. You do not want to have ten locks keeping your door shut either. That will give off the wrong impression that you live in a bad neighborhood, or that you may have had bad intentions while living in the house.
Floors
The floors are one of the main consistencies within each home, and they need to be in good shape. Carpets that are stained and dirty give off more than one bad impression. It shows that the previous owners did not take good care of the carpets and that they will either need to be cleaned extremely well or replaced altogether.
If they are filled with mildew or other nasty smells, it will take more than a few candles and deodorizing spray to cover up the smell. You should consider either hiring a cleaning crew, or replacing the carpets yourself. They can be done relatively inexpensively and can show that the house is well taken care of.
Hire Help
Most people that are looking to purchase a house will hire electricians and plumbers to look at the “guts” of the house. They will point out all of the major faults and the price it will take to fix them. It is in your best interest to hire them and find out the major problems before the potential buyers do. If they are something cheap to fix, than they can be done relatively quickly. If the problems are major, than you can alert the home buyers of the problems before they find out for themselves.
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