9 Upgrades That Will Boost Your Home’s Value

When you’re planning to sell your home, selling it as-is isn’t always the best option. If you haven’t made any upgrades or renovations to your house in recent years, consider upgrading things before moving out. Making the right upgrades ensures your home will net you more money in the sale and keeps future homeowners happy.

1. Replace Your Flooring

If your flooring looks a little worse for wear, consider replacing it. Old carpet or linoleum is bound to wear out over time. Even tile may be chipping or cracking due to constant use.

Before you list your home for sale, replace any flooring products that have issues. That way, when people tour your home, they’ll be impressed with how up-to-date your choices are.

Natural hardwood floors are excellent choices, and you can’t always replace them without losing the charm of your home. If you find any scratches in your flooring, try to cover them up or treat them rather than scrapping the floor altogether. You can rub a waxy crayon of the same color as your floor into the hardwood. Once it’s covered, you can buff it out with a soft cloth. Most people may not even notice that you had to cover a scratch!

2. Work on Your Bathroom

Bathrooms are crucial when homebuyers decide whether they want a home. A run-down bathroom leaves a good impression on no one. Bathroom upgrades, such as replacing a showerhead or putting in a new sink, can make the most private room in your house more welcoming and in line with the vision you have for the rest of your home.

Nice bathrooms mean you can pamper yourself, so if yours needs any upgrades before you put your home on the market, don’t wait.

3. Go Window Shopping

Windows are an essential part of any home upgrade. Old windows could be rotting away and allowing drafts in. Replacing your windows makes them more energy-efficient, thereby helping you save on your monthly power bill and increasing your home’s value.

Make sure to choose the same window style throughout your home to create a cohesive look. Home hunting is often about finding a house that’s functional and has a great aesthetic – so while you’re being practical and replacing windows to keep monthly costs down, why not make your whole home look good in the process?

4. Add Storage Space

Homebuyers always look for places to store their items neatly. The best way to add more storage might be to expand a closet somewhere in your home, but you can add storage in other ways, too. Expanding or building a closet might not be feasible in your home or may end up too costly, so it’s nice to have other solutions to rely on.

Consider building floating shelves in your living room or office space. This way, homebuyers will see that they can display their knick-knacks and potentially decorate these seamless floating shelves for major holidays. You could also install big shelves in your garage, allowing the next family to move in using storage totes without worry. Installing new shelves is an incredibly easy way to add storage for future homeowners.

5. Redo Your Kitchen Countertops

Countertops can feel outdated fast, especially if they haven’t aged well or appear too cheap. If you’re planning to sell your home, you should update the countertops, as the kitchen is one of the main things homebuyers look at when considering whether to purchase a house. If you plan on remodeling the rest of your kitchen, the countertops may stick out like a sore thumb.

If you don’t want to sink all that money into refinishing your countertops, consider creating DIY concrete countertops or even using countertop contact paper. Contact paper usually resists water and heat to an extent, and it can be a simple, cheap way to give your countertops a new look without spending thousands.

6. Update Your Cabinets

When updating your cabinets, you have two choices: installing new hardware or painting or staining old cabinets for a fresh look. If you choose to buy all-new cabinets, consider finding something that matches your current or desired kitchen look.

Color is the most crucial element. Don’t look so much at knobs or handles that match your kitchen, as those can be replaced easily. Unless you have a particular way of doing things, consider having someone professionally install the cabinets, so you know it’ll be a job well done.

If you’re painting your cabinets, you should sand them first so you have a smoother surface to paint on. Doing so will help your paint job look more professional and even. Once you’ve sanded it down, use a primer to fill any holes and ensure your paint sticks to your cabinets.

When you apply paint or stain to your cabinets, be methodical and ensure you cover every surface. Once you finish painting, it’s time to apply the finish, so your cabinets remain long-lasting for years.

7. Pick a Color Palette

Sticking to one color palette throughout your home can make your home look more put-together and make it easier for future homeowners to buy certain furniture with the layout of the house in mind.

If your home is small, aim to include plenty of lighter colors in your palette, so the rooms appear larger. Choose colors that complement one another and bring contrast to create defined, unique spaces in your home.

8. Refresh Your Bedroom

Master bedrooms are a main attraction of home listings, too. Bedrooms with plenty of space, including plenty of storage space, can be a significant draw to homebuyers. Consider giving your bedroom a well-deserved makeover.

Implement neutral colors that can complement any sort of furniture future buyers may bring with them. Consider adding shelving or making permanent changes to your closet or storage space in the bedroom. Once you make-over your bedroom, it should look like a blank canvas that any new homeowner can dress up to their liking.

9. Change Your Landscaping

Curb appeal is the first thing potential buyers notice about your home. How your house looks from the road could be a dealbreaker for many buyers, as it’s vital to give off a great first impression. Instead of an expansive lawn, consider planting trees, shrubs, or other region-native greenery to break your yard up into sections.

Decorating your front yard doesn’t necessarily mean buying many lawn ornaments, just taking care to formulate an area that is interesting to look at. An intriguing front lawn design bodes well for the rest of the home and helps a house stand out from the rest of the neighborhood.

Help Your Home Sell for More

When you’re planning to list your home for sale, or at least boost its value so that you will be able to sell it someday, modernizing your house is a must. By completing upgrades that improve the overall function of your home, you’ll enjoy living there for the remainder of your time – and also enjoy the price it fetches when you go to sell it.