When you decide to put your home on the market, there’s so many things that seem like they need to get done before you can actually list. There’s only so many weekends you can fit projects into to ensure your hose hit the market during prime selling season… let’s just say 8.
If you’re prepared to roll up your sleeves and apply a little sweat equity, you can boost your productivity and asking price at the same time… just by taking on a few simple projects that are proven to increase your home’s value.
You don’t have to worry about investing a large budget to tackle a major home renovation. Instead, take a stab at these DIY improvement ideas based on the latest research on the biggest home value adds. Pick a few… or even all 8… to tackle in your limited free time to get your home in excellent shape for that exciting moment when the “For Sale” sign goes up.
Weekend 1: Declutter Your House Room By Room
One of the best ways to increase the value of your home before you sell is to declutter it (which not only makes cleaning easier, but also makes your home appear larger). This project could add nearly $2,000 to your home’s value, and shouldn’t cost you more than $300. That’s an ROI of 586%!
Decluttering your home might seem like a daunting task, but if you build in time throughout your two day weekend (or maybe even 3), this is a very accomplishable goal. It just takes a little planning. I recommend doing a bit of recon first by making estimations how much time each room will take, but limit yourself to 2 hours for the biggest projects, and spend less time on the smaller rooms, such as the bathroom (which shouldn’t take more than 30 minutes).
With large trash bags for junk, empty boxes for donations, a timer to keep you on track, and markers and sticky notes to label everything, you’ll have the supplies you need to jump right in.
The quicker you move, the easier it is to avoid getting attached to items and taking a stroll down memory lane. If you allow yourself to stop and reminisce, you risk blowing your schedule.
Pro Tip: We all get attached. For the items you aren’t quite sure you can let go of, create a separate “indecision” pile that you can go through at the end of the entire decluttering process, rather than letting tough calls slow you down at every turn.
Weekend 2: Suds Up Your Carpet for a Deep Cleaning
Carpet feels good on the feet and keeps you warm in the Winter, but one of the worst things is that you could be living in total filth and not even know it because your carpet is so comfortable. With hardwood or tile, what you see is what you get. But carpet fibers are experts at hiding mounds of dog hair, allergens, dead skin and dust bunnies.
If you take care of your carpet and are a habitual vacuumer (weekly), then good for you. That’s one of the biggest carpet challenges. However, there’s nothing like a freshly carpet shampooing to make it look and smell fresh again. I promise, you will be able to tell an instant difference. Just think of shampooing your carpet being as satisfactory as a freshly mowed lawn. In fact, experts recommend you do this twice a year.
Did you know that replacing or shampooing your carpets has a 169% ROI? Yep! It’s true. You can save costs by going the DIY route and renting a machine from a place like Walmart, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Ace Hardware or your local grocery store. You can find and compare machine rentals in your area using RugDoctor. In fact, I challenge you to spend the weekend cleaning your carpets and tell me if you don’t find some sort of happiness and stress relief from having clean carpets. It’s really a game changer. Honestly.
Accounting for the machine ($30 per day), cleaning solution ($17 per bottle), and pre-treating solution ($6), cleaning all your carpeting could cost as low as $87, according to Consumer Reports.
Assuming that you can clean each room in about 20 minutes, this is a project you could knock out in a weekend (or even a day).
Weekend 3: Deweed Your Yard Without Using Chemicals
Outdoor landscaping can boost your home’s value anywhere from 5% to 20%. That’s a lots. And yes, not everyone has the time or money to invest a large budget to give their yard a facelift (or a fancy landscape design), but any little improvements you make to the outside of your home will be well worth the effort.
One of the top projects that should be a top any homeowner’s list is de-weeding. Some people enjoy yard work, some don’t. For those of us who don’t, keeping a weed-free yard can be a challenge. And doing it the nature way is even better! Harsh chemicals can sometimes do more harm than good or pose a safety risk to yourself (or your furbabies!) However, household mixtures like salt and vinegar—or vodka, baking soda, and borax—serve as potent weed killers. You can also use corn gluten to suppress weed seeds before they sprout.
If you can keep your yard mowed, tidy, and weed-free, you’re on your way to impressive curb appeal. To go above and beyond, try to boost your curb appeal with a few final touches such as new house numbers, a new mailbox, and maybe even a fresh coat of paint on your front door (perhaps even with a bold color).
Weekend 4: Cover Your Walls With a Neutral Coat of Paint
There’s nothing like a fresh coat of paint to truly give your home a face lift. Paint livens up a room, freshens up a high-traffic area like a kitchen or living room, and cleans up old scuffs, splatters, stains, and can even neutralizes bad smells.
One of the most important things to keep in mind when repainting your home and preparing it for possible resale is to choose a neutral color scheme. This not only will appeal to a large majority of home buyers, but it also helps your home appear up-to-date and on par with current home trends. In fact, roughly 68% of Realtors recommend painting walls, and 62% recommend at least paint touch-ups, according to a 2017 survey from the National Association of Realtors.
Natural paint tones such as light beige and grey throughout the home might sound limiting, but, turns out, buyers love a cohesive home. These tones may seem boring but there are plenty of gorgeous hues in the grey family alone, such as Passive by Sherwin Williams with a green undertone; a mid-tone cool Thundercloud Gray by Benjamin Moore; and a true slate gray called Vessel Gray by Valspar.
The best part of of a home repainting project if that you can most definitely complete it in a weekend and potentially see 1 to 2% of a property value increase when it comes time to sell. Keep things simple and neutral, and you’re set.
Weekend 5: Play Matchmaker With Your Hardware
As mentioned above, major home makeovers can be risky. But, sometimes, the small things help impress buyers. Upgrades to key spaces like kitchens and baths tend to be the most successful.
One of the easiest and least inexpensive project is to update all of the hardware and fixtures in your home to match current trends and provide a cohesive style. These upgrades could include: light fixture, sink, door knob, cabinet handles/pulls and light switch plates. It’s an inexpensive way to make your home look move-in ready and up to date.
Pro Tip: Brushed nickel is timeless and clean for both switch plates and light fixtures. Brass and gold are risky. Stick with timeless and neutral.
Having modern hardware, fixtures, and other small home upgrades are one less thing a buyer has to worry about once they buy the home. With projects like this already checked off the honey-do list, a buyer is more likely to make an offer.
Weekend 6: Update Your Light Bulbs to LED to Boost Efficiency
Light bulb technology has come a long way. In fact, LED lights last 25 times longer and use 75% less energy than their incandescent counterparts. More than likely, if you’ve lived in the same house for decades, you might not have considered switching your current bulbs to LED.
If you replace your fixture bulbs with LEDs across your entire house, inside and out, that can be a huge selling point you can highlight in your listing description when it comes time to sell: “Energy efficient lighting throughout the home.”
LED bulbs cost more upfront but can save a household $1,000 over a 10-year period by reducing energy usage. In older bathrooms, they especially make a difference. LED bulbs stay cooler longer, therefore producing less heat while you’re trying to get ready in the mornings. No need to melt to start your day!
Collectively, energy efficient upgrades like using LED bulbs or installing Energy Star certified windows, for example, can boost your home’s value by 1-3%.
Weekend 7: Install Smart Home Tech Features That Buyers Love
If you can’t change your thermostat using your smartphone, it’s time to upgrade. This small outdated feature might not make or break your home sale, but modern smart home technology such as the Nest thermostat, which you can control from your smartphone, can be a big value add for millennial buyers especially… not to mention, often times is more energy efficient as it can sense when you’re not home and won’t use excess heat/AC.
Don’t go crazy with the smart home technology though. No sense in buying the latest, greatest, and all of the most expensive fads. Instead, go for investments in three categories: locks, lights, and security.
In addition to smart thermostats, bells and whistles such as the August Smart Lock, Ring Video Doorbell, Phillip’s hue white smart light starter kit and Nest Protect smoke and carbon monoxide detectors could help you fetch at least 3% more for your home, according to Consumer Reports.
Weekend 8: Neutralize Odors and Infuse Your Home with a Citrus Scent
This is my FAVORITE DIY project. In a 2016 experiment conducted by realestate.com.au, 44 home buyers were split into groups to tour the same home infused with various scents: brownies, hot bread, freshly made coffee, citrus, and dirty socks.
The results showed that the smell of citrus can boost buyers’ perceived value of a home by $100,000.
Before you can add scents to a home, however, you have to pinpoint any smelly culprits and neutralize them. You need to ensure potential buyers can “smell themselves living in your home.” If the place smells like your dogs, then the buyer’s not thinking about how they would live there… they’re thinking about how you live there.
Cleaning carpets, mopping floors, changing sheets on beds, moving pet toys/litter boxes to the garage temporarily, cleaning bathrooms, etc. will pretty much cover the biggest offenders. Although, some experts will tell you to avoid using chemical cleaners or air fresheners to achieve the citrus smell, I actually prefer to buy a few citrus scented wallflowers (from Bath & Body Works) or spreading out some essential oil diffusers throughout the home.
If you do want to keep the natural approach though, add a few drops of lemon or orange essential oils to a spray bottle as a mister, put some small pieces of citrus rinds down the garbage disposal, or simmer sliced citrus fruit in over the stove in water.
Your home will be smelling like $100,000 more in no time!
Hungry for more value-added projects? Give me a call and let’s brainstorm together!
If you’re serious about selling your home and want to get the biggest return on investment, give me a call and let’s chat about how I can help. I would love to brainstorm together and provide a walkthrough and point out any areas that might need a little extra TLC before you list.
The key to listing success is communication and using a Realtors expertise to your advantage. Realtors are trained to look at the little details in your home that buyers will notice and comment on. Let me help ensure all of your hard earned dollars and time are invested towards the most important projects. No one wants to waste time and effort on work that won’t pay off.
Give me a call at 770.475.5530, email at marylou@maryloulanaux.com, or complete the contact form here.
(Source: https://www.homelight.com/blog/projects-that-increase-home-value/)
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