Affordable Ways To Boost Home Value

It time and money to make your home’s value grow. However, a few smart choices will allow you to keep those investments low while still making sure you get the most you can from selling your home. While preparing your house for sale, keep in mind that you don’t want to take a lot of time testing the market with your price — after about two weeks of being on the market, your house will have a hard time trying to catch potential buyers’ eyes again. So, to motivate buyers into scheduling a tour and hopefully writing a check, you need to make your home’s unique qualities and value obvious. Here are a few low-cost places to start:

Manicured Landscape

First things first: tackle that yard. On top of a solid lawn mowing and bush pruning, try planting a couple of new trees or shrubs to frame the front door or walkway. For something less permanent, if you’d like to leave those big decisions to the soon-to-be-homeowners, that’s fine too: Instead, try placing a few large planters, fecund with foliage and blossoms, on the porch.It’s a welcoming touch that will help buyers to feel like they’re already home.Also sharpen up the look of the driveway and sidewalks by running an edger —which you can rent for just $30 — along the sides to remove excess grass and dirt. Investing $400 in yard care can yield a sale price around $1,500 higher. 

Refreshed Exterior

Repainting the front door and trim can make a night and day difference in the appearance and personality of a house. For extra impact, also rent a pressure washer, starting at $25, to clean up aging sidewalks and siding and make them look new again. Also take inventory of the hardware on the outside of the house: How are the house numbers holding up? Is the mailbox intact? What about the front door handle? Are the porch lights tarnished?Replacing some or all of these fixtures can make an old house look more modern in an afternoon.

Slim Energy Bill

Chances are, smart potential buyers will be asking how much it costs per month to keep the lights on (and the air conditioner running). To make sure your house using energy as efficiently as it can, inspect the weatherstripping and replace if it’s looking shoddy. Inspect the HVAC system and seal any leaks there as well. Even small steps like replacing the furnace filter and cleaning the fireplace will make the move feel more tempting — and the house therefore more valuable — to buyers. 

Freshen Up Walls & Floors

Like painting your front door, giving your walls a fresh coatis an easy way to make the house appear cleaner, newer, and move-in ready. Investing in a bit of new flooring — if, say, your house was remodeled with wall-to-wall carpeting in the misguided 1970s — can pay for itself with value it adds to your home: This Old House reported that spending $600 to replace or upgrade flooring can add up to $2,000 to the sale price. Any project you can take off the buyers’ shoulders makes your home look that much more inviting to potential buyers.

Sam Radbil is a contributing member of the marketing and communications team at ABODO, an online apartment marketplace. ABODO was founded in2013 in Madison, Wisconsin. And in just three years, the company has grown to more than 30 employees, raised over $8M in outside funding and helps more than half a million renters find a new home each month. Article provided by Lizzy Manthe of ABODO