How to Increase Home Value - Best 2021 Trends
Buying and selling a property for profit can sometimes be overwhelming. From finding the perfect home to financing and then selling - even the most experienced property flippers often find this process daunting. One of the steps involved in this process is home remodeling.
Home remodeling is the process of renovating or making additions to your investment property in hopes of increasing its value and making a profit during resale.
However, not everyone who remodels their home gets a return on investment that meets their desired expectation. I read a survey the other day in Remodelling magazine stating that the 2020 average return on 21 popular remodeling projects declined to 66.5% from the 2019 average of 68.6%. But you shouldn't let this bother you because this article will explain in detail what aspects of your home to upgrade to get maximum ROI and give it that trendy look.
Home Improvements That Boost your Home Resale Value
Making quality improvements to your home is an idea that should always be entertained because, aside from increasing your home's value, it helps preserve and maintain your property.
There are several improvements that can turn your home into a trendy stay. These include curb attachments, cabinet remodeling, adding extra space, and even changing your floor's material. These home improvements are pretty necessary as they are a prerequisite to boosting the resale value of your property.
I've explained these home improvements in detail below, so it would be best to pay keen attention as you will definitely boost your property's resale value with the information below.
Get Curbside Appeal with Painting and Landscape
Curbside appeal is the term used to describe the general beauty of the curb or sidewalk leading to your home. Your curb is the first thing a potential buyer sees when visiting your home for the first time, so it is a no-brainer to keep it in proper shape.
These days, prospects see the curbside appeal as an indication of how well you preserve other parts of your house. These days, individuals believe that if you take pride in ownership of the exterior, that translates to a beautiful interior. According to Suzette Peoples, an established realtor and broker, curb appeal is essential for buyers to form a positive notion of the property. It helps them develop a better sense of what they are about to purchase.
You can increase your home's curbside appeal in various ways; you can start by painting bleached areas in your front yard. Painting doesn't cost much these days, as a gallon of paint goes for around $25. Another great way to improve curbside appeal is to retouch your landscape. You can do this by weeding, trimming, and planting trees around your lawn. Landscaping is pretty as the average cost is around $3000.
Asides from these two I have mentioned, other ways of improving curbside appeal include power washing, roof replacement, and curb lighting. If you really want to blow someone away, try power-washing your driveway (no pun intended). This helps remove loose paint, mold, grime, dust, mud, chewing gum, and dirt. Power Washing costs range between $100 to $400.
Photo by boris misevic on Unsplash
Moving on to roof replacement, did you know that a roof usually needs to be replaced entirely every decade? Maintaining your roof regularly is quite essential as it helps prevent leakages. Since people can notice the condition of your roof from the sidewalks, it is crucial to maintain it once in a while.
Roof maintenance costs an average of $500 to $600. Finally, curb lighting. Adding new light fixtures to your curb and front door can amplify and update the look of your home. However, make sure you choose light fixtures that are easy to install and fit perfectly with your current design scheme.
Add Physical Square Footage
These days, the average American home has 1000 more square footage than those built 50 years ago. This may not come as a surprise, but most people still live in homes that were built decades ago, and as a result, their home's square footage is way below the average. And considering that most realtors or agents frequently ask about the sqft of a home before making any efforts to sell or purchase, it is crucial.
The average square footage for a Washington DC home is 2237 sqft, and if you own a house that does not meet the required square feet, don't be scared. Increasing your home's sqft is relatively easy these days. One way is by creating a modular addition to your home.
A modular addition is a prefabricated room added onto the house's exterior to create a second story. They're popular home expansion projects for single-story buildings like ranch homes. The cost ranges from an average of $100 to $200.
You can also create movable walls by introducing sliding doors to help separate the sleeping and living quarters. In addition, you can decide to place a room over your garage, which can be done without turning your house into a mess.
Refine Hardwood Flooring
Hardwood floor selection is one of the most basic yet important decisions a homeowner can make when remodeling and renovating. These floors are an excellent investment because not only are they durable and easy to clean, they can also increase your property's value.
Selecting the perfect hardwood flooring for your home starts by picking either a solid or engineered floor. And this will depend on the particular floor to be worked on. Once you do this, it's time to select between a prefinished or site-finished hardwood floor.
Ever since they were introduced in the 1940's prefinished floors have been the most selected choice of flooring. Prefinished floors are more durable; however, site-finished hardwood allows for a level of customization that might appeal to homeowners and designers.
After selecting your desired finish, you will need to consider the type of wood and grain pattern for the flooring. Finally comes installation! You can choose to install your hardwood finish yourself or hire a professional to do it for you. But before installation, you will need to let your purchased hardwood acclimate. To acclimate hardwood flooring, move the packaged boards into the room where they will be installed and let them sit for several days, with the cartons open and raised off the ground.
Then you can proceed to prepare the space, make the installations and apply the finishing touches. The total cost for hardwood flooring ranges from an average of $5000 to $6000.
Do Minor Cabinet Remodels
If you're looking to increase the overall value of your home, you will also need to consider remodeling the cabinets. The options available include cabinet refacing or a total cabinet replacement. The former comprises the installation of new drawer fronts and doors. In addition, new cabinet hardware is usually installed. If you have a terrible drawer (or several), I suggest you put new ones. Minor DIY cabinet fixes $300 to $650
Cabinet refacing has an average cost of $7,000 to $10,000 for a 10-foot by 10-foot kitchen. For cabinet replacement, the costs range from $15,000 to $20,000 for contractor-grade and budget cabinets.
Change Up the Floor Planning
There are a variety of reasons why homeowners would want to change their floor plan. Apart from the fact that an excellent floor plan sets the proper structure for the house, it also increases its value when there is a resale.
Floor plans also help you allocate more space to specific areas you find lacking. Maybe you need more space in the kitchen or more bedrooms than bathrooms. A good floor plan can help you achieve all these. Here are some common mistakes you should avoid when creating your floor plan:
Neglecting room placement considerations.
Making your floor plan too large or small.
Overlooking your current lifestyle.
Not taking hidden costs into account.
Finally, ignoring proportions.
Floor plan changes are an excellent way to give life to your home and give it extra value. Excellent examples of floor plan change that increase home value are;
Photo by boris misevic on Unsplash
1. Adding a bathroom: In the section about square footage above, we talked about how older homes typically have less space and amenities compared to the ones of today. One of the luxuries these older homes fail to have is an extra bathroom. These days, newly constructed homes come with at least two bathrooms, so having only one bathroom in your home can significantly reduce its value. The cost of adding a bathroom goes for about $50-$175 per square foot.
2. Extending a Kitchen: Kitchen extensions are a great way to add value to your home. For those who love to cook up a storm when guests are over, this is welcome news. When extending your kitchen, I suggest you have a mental picture of how you want your kitchen to look after the remodel. Do you want to have a large Island or fancy a little bit of storage space? All of these should be well thought out before beginning the remodeling phase. The cost of expanding the kitchen will cost $35-$300 per square foot.
3. Converting a room into two: Homeowners with larger than average rooms larger should consider splitting their rooms into two. Not only does it increase the value of your home, but this also gives you more value for your buck! You can divide a room in two via the following ways:
A permanent partition wall: This is a more common option these days, mainly because it's easy to build and cost-efficient.
A movable wall: Movable walls are aesthetically pleasing as they come in various options such as glass and other stylish materials.
This process has an average cost of around $12-$27 per square foot.
Are you ready to increase your investment property's value?
Real Estate properties are a great investment, and like every investment you need to carry out excellent research to determine its profitability in the long run. So far, I have discussed various home improvements that won’t just give your home a modern look, but also greatly increase its value.
My goal with this article is to help investors get started and make the best return on their money from every development project they embark on. Get more FREE content on how to invest in real estate by joining our community list.
