Once you invest in any type of property, your next step is to increase its value as you want it to be worth more than how much you paid for it. There are many different ways to add value to your property, some of which are low cost and normally aim to improve on the look or appeal, while others are more expensive and work on in-depth renovations.
Low Cost.
Low-cost methods of increasing a property’s value are the simple things that a property owner can do to his/her property which help to increase the look or appeal of the property. While these things may not add a lot of money to the value of the property, failure to do them may prevent your property from reaching its full potential value. All of these fixes are low cost and can be done without having to hire any professional or outside help.
Moderate or High Cost.
There are several changes you can make to your property which can have a moderate to high cost depending on how much renovation you want to be done and the materials to be used. These changes will normally add a significant amount of money to the value of your property.
Below are 15 ways you can add value to your property.
1. Cleaning. – Ensuring that your property is clean both inside and outside will have an immediate effect on your property’s value. Things such as dirt, garbage, and bad smells are not appealing and should be taken care of before showing your property to potential buyers.
2. Change house/building fixtures. – Replacing a broken or worn-out doorknob, light fixture, or even a cabinet handle is an easy way to increase the appeal of a small space.
3. Paint. – A fresh coat of paint can make a huge difference when it comes to adding value and appeal to your property. Additionally, neutral colours tend to appeal to everyone.
4. Add curb. – Adding small appealing items such as a mailbox, outdoor lights, shutters, or a few plants can make your property feel more welcoming. Investing in big projects such as driveways, walkways, or new sidings could also lead to more value added to your property.
5. Staging a property. – De-cluttering an area and providing a function for each room can add good value to your property. Small things that tend to be ignored such as placing your furniture properly or the amount of furniture in a room can also be very helpful.
6. Change or include windows and/or doors. – This is a great way to add value to your property and it also has several benefits such as improving aesthetics, increase natural light in the house, lower the cost of heating and cooling, and even reduce noise inside the house. Placing skylights may help to add light to a place that lacks windows or natural light. Adding French doors that lead to the backyard area creates a sense of elegance, allows more light into your property, and creates more space. You can also try to position your windows and door in a manner that highlights some of the more appealing parts of your property or de-emphasise undesirable areas.
7. Making changes or updates to the kitchen and bath. – This is not an entire renovation, bit instead, involves only making changes to a portion of the room. These could be changes such as new flooring or new countertops. In the kitchen, the sink could be switched out or new appliances could be bought. In the bathroom, utilities such as the bathtub, toilet, or sink could be switched out and replaced with new ones.
8. Fully renovating a kitchen or bath. – This is the entire renovation of a room. It can involve changing the layout of the room, adding new flooring, new countertops, new lighting fixtures, new cabinets, new sinks, new faucets, new appliances, new shower, new toilet, or even a new bathtub.
9. Basement conversion. – Basement conversion is a process of changing the basement space into a room that is more inhabitable. There are two different types of basement conversion. The basic one normally involves making small changes such as moving several items to different areas or adding light fixtures. The extensive one involves excavation and expansion so as to create adequate height or length that could be considered to be inhabitable.
10. Noise reduction. – Most people like their homes to be peaceful and quiet. Noise in a home can be reduced by the inclusion of things such as insulation, installing rugs and carpets to minimize footsteps noise, and installing double pane doors and windows.
11. Create a layout that is more functional. – This could involve doing things such as taking down a wall located between the living room and kitchen, rearranging a room so as to create more space, adding a bathroom to a bedroom, minimizing space in an oversized room so as to create more space to a nearby smaller room, and also changing the locations of two or more rooms.
12. Update siding. – When it comes to home siding, there are a lot of options to choose from and the best one will normally depend on the location and climate of your property. This update will also help to lower your property’s utility bills and also improve its aesthetic looks.
13. Gut Renovation. – Redoing a property completely by taking it down to its studs and then building it back up again using a design and materials that are more modern can greatly help to increase the value of your property.
14. Noise reduction. – Most people like their homes to be peaceful and quiet. Noise in a home can be reduced by the inclusion of things such as insulation, installing rugs and carpets to minimize footsteps noise, and installing double pane doors and windows.
14. Land survey. – Land surveys are a very important part of land development. They are used to determine the features and boundaries of a property. There are different types of land survey. The main type that you should be focused on when looking to add value to your property is the boundary survey. A boundary survey can be conducted in order to determine the actual property lines and corners of a piece of land so as to give an accurate assessment of its value. The land surveyor can also provide you with an elevation certificate so you can ensure your property is within the boundaries set by the county.
15. Adding some architectural detail. – Placing a chair or crown moulding to a room can greatly help to give it character.
Extra Tips.
When improving your property so as to increase its value, be careful not to overdo it. You don’t want to be investing a significant amount of money on a renovation that will not see returns.
Also, before starting any renovation process, make sure that you do some research in your area in order to get a good estimate on how much your property’s value will be after renovations. Once you get a good estimate, you can deduct the price that you paid for your property so as to get the maximum amount that you should invest on a renovation and any other additional costs.
By Kathryn Louise, Lifestyle Blogger.
