Upgrading your home has tons of benefits, from increased resale value to providing you with functionality while you’re still living in the home. Many people choose to upgrade their home in some aspect when their home is outdated or requires repairs. However, don’t wait until a disaster to upgrade your house for form and function now. Here are eight ways to upgrade your home that pay off big.
1. Minor Bathroom Remodel
Bathrooms are huge selling points for homebuyers, especially women who want a getaway within their home. A minor bathroom remodel may sound expensive, but you’ll increase your resale value when it’s time to sell your house. If you want to price your project priced correctly, you should hire a construction estimator to price your project. You don’t have to knock down walls or replace all of your fixtures to change your bathroom. Instead, you can get rid of the old caulk and re-caulk your tub to look brand new. You can also reglaze it so it looks like new.
Nothing makes a room, especially a bathroom, look brand new, like a fresh coat of paint. Choose a color that reflects the way you want people to feel in your bathroom, such as off-white, for a clean, elegant look.
Even if you’re not selling your home anytime soon, you can create your own oasis just the way you like it.
2. Create an Office
You don’t have to start building walls to create a home office that improves productivity when you’re working from home. Instead, use an old bedroom or a room that you’re using for storage and add a few pieces of furniture, including a desk and a comfortable office chair. With everyone learning how difficult it can be to work from home without a dedicated space, your home office can appeal to the masses. Not to mention, it can help you be more productive when working from home.
3. Improve Landscaping
Landscaping will give your house curb appeal that gives buyers a good first impression. Not only that, but it also increases resale value tenfold. Not even knowing what good landscape design looks like, so visit your local garden center for advice about where to find landscape design services or ask neighbors whose landscaping you like how they accomplished their look.
Landscaping can be as inexpensive or expensive if you want it to be, but if you want to save money, opt by doing your landscaping yourself and planting flowers, trees, and bushes where you think they’ll look best. Even if you aren’t putting your home up for sale, giving the exterior of your home a makeover and manicure can make you feel like you’re coming home to a brand new house at the end of the day.
4. Minor Kitchen Remodel
Remodeling a kitchen is one of the most expensive remodels that you can have done on your home because the kitchen is the heart of the home where your family gathers for meals and you host parties. However, if you do have the money to spend, you can dramatically increase your resale value by focusing on the kitchen.
A minor kitchen remodel can also increase your resale value while bringing back the life your kitchen once had. To perform a minor remodel, consider painting your cabinets and drawers and replacing old cooktops, sinks, and fixtures.
5. Exterior Improvements
Much like landscaping, the exterior of your house creates curb appeal and draws in prospective buyers. The exterior of your home includes brick, vinyl siding, roofing, and more that make up the outside of your home.
If you’re looking to make minor improvements, you can repaint your house yourself at a lower price than hiring a professional house painting service. You can also replace windows with cracks to improve the exterior appearance of your home.
6. Build a Deck
A deck offers more outside space for you to spend with your family. It also makes your house more appealing to homebuyers than homes without a deck. The deck is where homebuyers can visuals large family gatherings, playing outside with the kids, and even spending alone time reading a book.
Not only can your deck provide you with additional space to get away from it all, but it can help homebuyers make the decision to purchase your home for slightly more than others in the neighborhood. Remember, some of your prospective buyers will be coming from apartment living, where they didn’t have a balcony or patio to spend their time outdoors.
According to SmartMove, “ A 2014 study performed by the American Institute of Architects found that demand for outdoor living spaces increased by a whopping 14 percent over the course of two years.” This means that you can truly appeal to more people by adding a simple deck to your backyard.
7. Heating Upgrade
If you find that your house isn’t heating up as efficiently or effectively as it used to, it may be time to upgrade your heating system. Upgrading your furnace and marketing that on your property listing can appeal to more homebuyers. No one wants to spend thousands of dollars on replacing the heating system in a home they just bought, so letting people know that your furnace is new can be a good marketing point.
Even if you’re not going to sell your home, upgrading your heating system can save you money. A new, efficient system won’t have to run as long or use up as much energy to heat your home, saving you money on gas and electricity throughout the year.
6. Create a Home Gym
You can use almost any room in your home to create a home gym that’s functional and shows prospective buyers that they don’t have to use every bedroom in the house for a guest room. As more people canceled their gym memberships this year and opted to work out at home, it’s clear that the home gym is here to stay.
A home gym can also help keep you in shape even if you aren’t selling your home. Knowing that all you have to do is walk a few feet into the next room can help keep you motivated to reach your fitness goals.
Wrapping Up
Making any upgrade, whether big or small, can be daunting, especially when you see the upfront sticker price or the time it will take to complete. However, your home is your sanctuary, and it pays to invest in it to make it a place for you and your family to rest and relax. Not only that, these investments will improve your home’s overall value, making it worth more money when it comes time to sell. With these 8 home upgrade tips, you’ll be on your way to creating your dream home.
About the Guest Author
Matt Casadona has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, with a concentration in Marketing and a minor in Psychology. He is currently a contributing editor for 365 Business Tips. Matt is passionate about marketing and business strategy and enjoys the San Diego life, traveling and music.
