Simple Renovations Can Do Much To Expand Property Value

Certainly, there’s a place for selling a property “as-is”, and just flogging it off as quickly as possible. However, you’re generally going to be leaving money on the table if you do that. Of course, whether or not this is the case largely depends on the neighborhood.

Cheap communities that are on the decline may put you in a situation where you need to get what you can get and move on. However, a home that has a low value, but is in a neighborhood that is growing in value, will likely be one you can expand in terms of equity relatively quickly. To that end, if you’re in a position where you’re within a few months of listing, consider these renovations before and during the listing process.

1. The Kitchen: Spend 5% To 15% Of Total Property Value

Between 5% and 15% of your property’s value represents the range that makes the most sense for kitchen renovation. A house worth $200k would be worth spending $10k to $30k on in terms of kitchen upgrades. Whether you go with around 5% or closer to 15% of total home value depends on you, your budget, whether you go the DIY route, and the market.

Again, in a declining market, you may not want to push this too hard—the renovations could end up being less than profitable. That said, a neighborhood doing well recommends such upgrades.

2. General Honey-Do’s And Interior Fixes

Change out all the lightbulbs, fix any lamps that aren’t working, shimmy the doors that won’t close right, repair areas of the wall that are damaged, do the same for the floor, install pieces of wood where there’s a rough door jamb tripping everyone up. If you can do it, then turn your hat around, put on some safety glasses, and get it done.

As you go about fixing all the little things, take pictures and put them on your listing profile. Getting your property listed on an MLS, or Multiple Listing Service, the outlet can be a fine way to expand visibility. If you’re looking to sell your Florida home fast, MLS options have a lot to offer.

MLS markets can also give you an idea if the price you’re asking matches the perceived value. If you post on an MLS before getting all the honey-do’s done, and you’re still getting a lot of traffic, that may mean your property is generally desirable—getting the little things done will allow you to increase the price and see a greater profit.

3. Landscaping—A Cheap-But-Elegant DIY Deck

Solid landscaping expands property value between 5.5% and 12.7%. You don’t always have time to grow a new garden, but you can rip up some old grass and put down wood chips with a few little stones in a path going from the driveway to the front of the home.

On the perimeter, you could plant some bushes and install rough irrigation. If it looks good, that’s what matters. If your property could benefit from landscaping, look into that.On a $100k property, 5.5% to 12.7% in property value is $5.5k to $12.7k. On a 300k home, that’s $16.5k to $38.1k. At a minimum, such value increases can cover selling costs like realtor fees or the expense of “floating” while you’re between properties.

4. Finish That Basement, Make The Attic Usable

If you’ve got an unfinished basement, finish it. Spend $10k to $20k redoing the sheetrock, putting in some sort of flooring that most effectively matches your needs, and assuring the bathroom is properly functional. You can make a basement into an apartment unit which can make a conventional home into a sort of duplex

Similarly, finish the attic. If you need to incorporate a structurally stabilizing design in the floor of the attic, that can be worth hiring an engineer for. Paint the walls, or add some wallpaper. Clean up the clutter. Sweep and mop. Re-stain and polyurethane the wooden floors. Add a few lighting sources; maybe a lamp via wall sconce, or one your plugin.

When a basement can be a new “rental” portion of the house, and an attic can be a new sitting room, bedroom, or observatory (provided there’s a good window up there), a house’s value increases.

There’s more space to work with, it looks nice, and potential buyers can imagine the possibilities without having to imagine what it would be like to do the work themselves. While these renovations may not increase the amount of square footage you can say the home has, when potential buyers come to look the house over, they’ll be impressed.

Moving Your Property At The Value It Should Command

Finishing basements, refurbishing attics, landscaping, general honey-do’s, or other interior fixes accompanied by MLS exploration to determine value, and kitchen renovation represent some of the best moves in terms of property management prior to sale. Fix what’s fixable, upgrade what you can, and make your property draw the value it should.