Top 10 DIY Home Improvements to Raise the Value of Your Home

Hi Friends!! Do you want to move to Warrensburg, MO, or near Whiteman AFB, but you’re struggling to sell your home in our inflated housing market?

 

Don’t worry, you’re not alone. You’re also not out of options for improving your chances of making a sale. One trick that can potentially attract more serious buyers is raising your home’s value, and you can do that using these top 10 DIY home improvements.

 

 

Let’s get into them!

 

10. Clean And Decluttered Home

 

One of the simplest (and cheapest) things you can do to increase the value of your home is to make sure it’s clean and decluttered before potential buyers come to view it. By doing this, you allow buyers to picture themselves living in the house, instead of being overwhelmed by your mess.

 

 

To prepare for showings, remove all those shoes, toys, clothes, mail, and any other loose items that are unnecessarily taking up space. Clean the house from top to bottom, so that there’s no visible dirt or grime and no unpleasant smells (smells, in particular, are very off-putting for buyers).

 

9. Curb Appeal

 

The outside of the house is the first thing buyers see, so you want it to make a good impression!

 

 

Focus on improving the curb appeal of your home with simple tricks, like:

 

• Mowing the grass and trimming the bushes
• Adding pretty potted plants to your porch
• Installing a privacy fence
  
  

8. Flooring

 

If the flooring in your house looks outdated, replacing it can make a world of difference to your home value.

 

 

I personally love luxury vinyl planks (LVP), which are vinyl planks made to look like hardwood.

 

 

They don’t last quite as long as real or even engineered hardwood, but they’re waterproof and provide nearly the same aesthetic (for a cheaper price).

 

7. Fixtures

 

For home improvement number seven, I recommend updating all your old and dingy-looking fixtures. This is a low-cost home improvement trick that can have a huge impact on the visual appeal of the house.

 

 

Some common fixtures that are easy to switch out are ceiling fans, outlet panels, doorknobs, cabinet pulls, and towel bars.

 

6. Plumbing And Electric

 

Buyers appreciate when the home they’re moving into features updated plumbing and electricity. This is especially true when the house is an older one and might have rusted, leaky pipes in the walls or knob and tube wiring (which will get flagged on a home inspection).

 

 

It’s pricey to update plumbing and electricity, but you can also figure the cost of those updates into the price of your home.

 

5. Thermostats

 

A new, smart thermostat in your home will not only look modern and exciting to buyers, but it will help them save more money on their future energy bills.

 

You can either purchase a new thermostat yourself, or you can check if there are any programs to receive a free one in your area. Due to how well smart thermostats help conserve power, some energy companies are now offering to install smart thermostats in residents’ houses - completely free of charge!

 

4. Maintain Records

 

Maintain records of all the times you serviced different parts of your house, like your A/C unit or your furnace. Then, when a buyer shows interest in your home, make a copy of all those records, put it in a folder, and have the Real Estate Agent show it to them. This will prove how well you’ve been taking care of the house and increase its value in the buyer’s eyes.

 

3. Paint Interior

 

Paint color may seem like a small thing, but it can literally transform a home from ugly and outdated to fresh and modern.

 

 

Choose neutral colors, like a shade of white, and go through your house room by room, painting all the walls and giving it the appearance of a clean slate.

 

 

Be sure to check your doors and your trim, as well, since sometimes the old paint on them can get dirty or cracked with age. If they look ugly, either replace them or sand them down and repaint them a neutral color, as well.

 

2. Paint Exterior

 

Just like a paint can transform the interior of your home, it can also do wonders for the exterior - especially if your house is old and the outside is just brown on brown on brown.

 

 

Update it with a more modern color, like soft grays or blues, and you’ll improve its curb appeal as well as attract younger buyers.

 

1. Kitchens And Bathrooms

 

The number one thing you can do to raise the value of your home is… update your kitchen and bathrooms!

 

 

Kitchen and bathrooms sell a home. That’s just the plain, unvarnished truth. So, if your bathrooms have outdated and dingy tile; a small, stained tub (or no tub at all); only one sink in the master bathroom; and if your kitchen is full of old appliances and dingy paint colors - it’s time to make some home improvements.

 

 

These fixes may cost quite a bit of money and take time to complete, but they hold their value and are extremely appealing to buyers.

 

 

I hope you enjoyed this article! If you want to learn more about improving your home or moving to Warrensburg, MO, and Whiteman AFB, contact us here. Also, here's a great free ebook on selling your house!