How to Increase the Value of Your Home Today

By:Lorraine Weston

Selling your home can often be a stressful occasion. Everyone wants to make sure that they can sell their house for at least as much as they paid for it. Sometimes, people go to great trouble to fix up their homes to make sure they sell for a good price. People replace windows, roofs, furnaces, even plumbing. These are all costly renovations, and are often unnecessary. There are many small and inexpensive changes you can make to your home that will raise its resale value. Consider these ideas:

Paint every space in your house that you think could use freshening up. If you want a space to look bigger, such as a living room or closet, use a light color, or white. Although painting is time-consuming, it is quite inexpensive, and helps to make a house look new again.

Check out the exterior of your house, including the yard; are there changes you could make here to improve its curb appeal? Paint trim and any steps or railings that look worn out, replace or repaint house numbers and light fixtures, and trim any hedges or bushes in your yard. Keep your grass cut and, even if you don’t have a flower garden, consider buying a pot or hanging basket of flowers to add color to your home’s entrance. You might even want to buy a welcome mat!

The kitchen and bathroom are two rooms you will want to pay special attention to. Make sure they are spotless. Are all of your lights and electrical outlets working? Do you need to add more to make the rooms brighter and more accessible? If you are unable to do these jobs on your own, ask an electrician to do it for you. Although it will cost more, you will know that everything works; also, extra lighting and outlets really do increase the value of a room in the eyes of potential home buyers.

Take a look at the flooring in your home. Are there rips or stains in linoleum or carpet? Are hardwood floors looking dull? Have all of your carpets cleaned. You can rent a carpet cleaner for a good price from a local home hardware or grocery store. If your carpet is damaged, you may be able to patch it if the spot is small. Linoleum is quite inexpensive, and easy to install. Clean and polish all hardwood floors.

Finally, before potential home buyers arrive to look through your house, add the finishing touches. Put fresh towels in the bathrooms and kitchen. Tidy closets, and make sure no newspapers or bills are lying out. Wipe down counters. Light a candle or two and put on some quiet music. Make sure all pets are out of the way. By following these tips, your home will be sold before you know it, and the selling price will put a smile on your face!

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Article keywords: home, value, increase, inexpensive, selling, buying, sell, price

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