Whether you recently purchased a property, are happily settled, or you’re looking to resell, you may want to know some surefire techniques that may breathe a new life to your home.
Here are some home improvement projects that our experts recommend when looking to add value to your residential property.
Home Improvements; Under $100
1. Consult with a Professional
The first step towards increasing the value of your property involves consulting with an expert such as a realtor or interior designer. These professionals know exactly what potential buyers are looking for.
An interior designer will, for instance, provide invaluable ideas regarding the necessary improvements on your décor. Such include using the appropriate colors, potted plants on window sills, and ultimately impact positively on your property’s value.
While an interior designer is likely to charge you for their services, they normally won’t ask for more than $100. The services are well worthwhile and might go a long way in enhancing the appearance and feel of your home.
2. Get an Inspection
The majority of potential home buyers picture themselves purchasing a home and moving in immediately without having to make a load of repairs. Small repairs might appear trivial individually, but when every room has something wrong going on, they will cumulatively create the impression that your home has been neglected.
Hire Professional Help: The inspector will examine your home for damp areas, missing or broken roof tiles, collapsing floors, pest infestation, rotting joists, and structural cracks. You may subsequently hire a handyman to execute the repairs you cannot handle.
3. Embark On Painting
Nothing can upgrade your home faster and give it a new lease of life than a fresh coat of paint. With a gallon of paint costing around $25, you have an inexpensive trick up your sleeves for making your home more desirable.
This doesn’t apply to the walls only, but also to the kitchen cabinets; painting these units is more cost-effective than replacing them. When painting your home, pay special attention to the kitchens and bathrooms; if possible, give them a complete paint job due to the high traffic they experience.
Neutral colors like grey, tan, and beige are particularly helpful in making smaller rooms appear larger in addition to introducing a warm aura in a home. Besides, neutral colors work well with most furniture, and hence prospective home buyers will be able to picture themselves in the space.
4. Go Green
The value of your home might benefit significantly from a few inexpensive upgrades, particularly those considered as environmentally-friendly. A home loaded with green features like solar panels, programmable thermostats, and bamboo floorings are likely to attract more buyers than their less eco-friendly counterparts.
Anything that affects the cost of your monthly utility bill should be considered and upgraded if need be. When looking to go green, you don’t necessarily need to break the bank; small things like replacing those incandescent light bulbs with LEDs as well as weatherstripping will go a long way in improving the efficiency of your home.
5. Light Your Space Up
Light has the potential to make a home appear more spacious and desirable, which is achieved by stimulating its visual appeal. Home selling experts will tell you that dimly-lit or dark homes appear to languish on the market longer in addition to receiving lower offers.
Consider investing in some mirrors, which will reflect natural light to make your home look brighter. Besides, mirrors are capable of making compact rooms appear larger and creating a feeling of bigger space.
Pro Tip: During your home showing event, you will want to open the blinds and window shades to let in the natural light before your prospects arrive. If there are rooms with smaller windows, consider turning on the lights in there. You may also replace dim bulbs with their brighter, warm-spectrum counterparts.
Home Improvements: $200-$400
1. Cleanup and Clear Out the Trash
Nothing discourages would-be home buyers from making a purchase than grime, clutter, and repulsive smells emanating from your house. You’ll be amazed by what cleanliness and minimizing clutter can do to the resale value of your home.
You should ensure that your home looks and smells good. Ensure that the interior of your home shines from top to bottom, which can be easily achieved by hiring a cleaning service for less than $400. These professionals will access all the nooks and crannies in your house that you normally overlook and make your home sparkle.
2. Improve Your Curb Appeal
First impressions are extremely crucial when looking to raise the value of your home. If the first thing people see when they drive up to your property is a broken mailbox or messy yard, the price tag on your home is bound to receive a blow.
Luckily, you don’t require a landscaping company to convert your front yard into a masterpiece; keeping it clean and tidying up will suffice.
Pro Tip: You may enhance your curb appeal by planting flowers or placing some potted plants along the walkway. Consider repainting or replacing that front door if it’s a clear blot on your landscape. Trim the hedges, clean the gutters, mow your lawn, and, if necessary, paint the window shutters and power-wash your siding.
3. Reconsider Your Layout
While extending your home is bound to increase the value of your property, you should first consider improving the use of your existing space. Think about how you could make your home’s layout work better.
You can start by eliminating stud walls to open up your space. You may also install uniform flooring throughout your space, running in the same direction to ensure that there’s a nice flow from inside to outside.
Experts Recommendation: Introduce an expanse of over-sized windows and glass doors to the rear of your property in a bid to open up space while also allowing maximum light inside. Opening up space can also involve combining the kitchen and dining room into one large area for enhanced relaxation of the entire family.
4. Update Your Light Fixtures
Adding eye-catching lighting elements will go a long way in improving the perceived value of your property,
affording you a competitive edge among your neighbors. Towards this end, you may install an attractive light fixture like a chandelier in the foyer or entryway, which might create an unmatched first impression to your visitors, or potential home buyers.
Chandelier installation will cost you between $100 and $400, including materials and labor. Beautiful light fixtures like Edison bulbs could well prove to be the one inexpensive detail you’ve been seeking to elevate the overall perception of your home.
Recessed lighting is also capable of giving any space a bright, contemporary touch.
Home Improvements: $400-$1,000
1. Upgrade your Bathrooms
Sprucing up your bathroom doesn’t need to cost you an arm and a leg; there are a few inexpensive renovations you could adopt when looking to exhibit this important area of your home in the best possible light.
You may trade your existing bath faucets with a contemporary and stylish option. Installing a marble countertop or grade granite to your bath vanity is also an inexpensive bathroom upgrade for your consideration. If you have a modern bathroom, you may find these upgrades unnecessary.
Budget Tip: A bathroom whose aged countertop has stains, dings, and chips could do with some renovations, especially if you’re looking to impress your buyers. Consider re-grouting, installing a different flooring, and replacing the taps in your bathroom to give it a new face-lift.
2. Renovate your Kitchen
A kitchen upgrade can be achieved by paying attention to the cabinets, countertop, or even the appliances. For instance, you may swap your aging countertop with granite, which is especially true if it’s yellowed or features peeling laminate.
Consider replacing your black, mundane appliances with their more contemporary stainless steel counterparts. If you have good cabinets but with outdated appearance, you may spruce them up by applying a new coat of bright-colored paint, or replace the handles and hinges.
Survey shows: Quartz countertops are also gaining massive popularity against their granite and marble counterparts as the go-to material when renovating high-end kitchens. Most homeowners prefer quartz due to its resilience and resistance to scratches, heat, cuts, and stains.
3. Replace Damaged Soft Furnishings
Pay attention to your home’s soft furnishings to determine whether your fabric-based items like carpets, rugs, cushions, and curtains are stained or worn. If the buyer realizes that they’ll have to replace the entire furnishings before moving in, they might get discouraged and shy away from the deal.
If your limited finances cannot allow you to replace all the furnishings, start with the one item exhibiting excessive wear and tear and address the others as your funds allow.
Getting new accents pillows for your sofa, plush rugs, a cozy throw, a well-dressed bed and fresh linen for your bathroom will go a long way in making your house feel and appear homely and luxurious.
4. Conduct Regular Maintenance
While maintenance might not directly boost the price of your home, neglect will definitely dent its value. Some of the things you should do include getting a tune-up for your A/C, securing the weather stripping around your windows, and repairing your scuffed hardwood floors.
Ensure to maintain the external structures of your home before welcoming viewers; your gutters, front door, and patio should appear well-maintained and tidy. Do not overlook the creak on the garden gate lest a potential buyer finds it repulsive.
Remember! Regular maintenance will prolong the usable life of your home’s structural components, eliminating the costly repair and replacement costs you’d otherwise incur in the long run.
5. Replace Old and Worn Windows
Properties with modern windows are capable of persuading prospective investors to spend more. Homeowners are, therefore, increasingly double glazing their windows; this practice is considered standard across the board. Some people will even go further to triple glaze, which is especially useful for those residing near the main roads. It’s a perfect way of preserving the peace and quiet in a home.
Modern windows are not only very crucial aesthetic wise, but they also play a crucial role in energy conservation. They’re capable of saving you money by preserving the available heat while also keeping the drafts out. When installing double-paned windows, you may expect to pay between $600 and $850.
6. Install Built-In Speakers
From whichever angle you look at this, you’ll realize that high-tech homes stand out from the competition and are more attractive to potential homebuyers. Therefore, you may want to centrally wire a sound system throughout your home if you’re looking to impress.
Placing a speaker in every room in your home will allow you to control music from anywhere in the house using a single remote. If you’re looking to excite movie and sports lovers, it’s advisable to install surround sound in the living room or den, which will cost you $230-$1,000.
While a speaker system might not directly add value to your home, it’s likely to help your house sell quicker, at the full asking price, or even exceed your quoted value.
Home Improvements: $1,000-$5,000
1. Make your Humble Abode a Smart Home
Smart home devices have a great potential of enhancing the sophistication of your property while also making it attractive to onlookers. Smart technology presents a unique selling-point and future-proofing for any prospective homeowner. Home automation will cost you no more than $1,600 unless of course, you go for high-end gadgets.
Installing a few smart gadgets like Wi-Fi-enabled door locks could make you a pacesetter in your neighborhood. You may also adopt intelligent thermostats that automatically learn your habits and regulate your home temperature automatically.
2. Renovate your Flooring
After painting your walls to liven their appearance, you may want to look down and address your flooring. This includes replacing the floorboards and carpets in the main living spaces, swapping or repainting the wooden floor trimmings to give your home a fresh new look, and upgrading the floor tiling in your bathrooms.
The floor plays a pivotal role in determining the functionality and comfort of any room, and not just for potential buyers and tenants. When renovating your home, assess your floors to determine whether you need a replacement. Remember that this is among the more expensive projects you’ll undertake, which will cost you between $2000 and $4000.
We Suggest: If your carpet is worn or stained, consider ripping it out and installing laminate or hardwood floors, or simply upgrade the carpeting to something more contemporary and easier to clean. Also, remember to refurbish the brickwork and planks comprising your outdoor entertainment spaces.
3. Invest In a New Door
A stylish door could be the one thing you need to create a strong first impression on the people entering your house. If the front door is strong and durable, it creates the impression of added security, which is a vital aspect when looking to add value to your home.
In a bid to keep up with the modern trends, you may consider replacing that old, ugly, solid mahogany door with an attractive, frosted, oval piece comprised of lead glass, a project that will cost you approximately $1,500.
When it comes to your garage, a modern rustic wood or glass panel door will go a long way in improving your home’s appearance and value.
Expert Recommendation: Consider installing a backsliding door to provide easy access to your entertainment areas, which will cost you around $3,000. A sliding or stacker door will go a long way in opening up your kitchen into an outdoor entertainment space. It will also enhance the utility of that area.
4. Invest in Crown Molding
When it comes to viable ideas that will give your home that wow factor, crown molding comes second to none. It’s a memorable detail that impresses visitors and buyers alike as it effortlessly introduces an aura of luxury to just about any space.
Crown molding can potentially create the impression of your home being well-crafted, solid, elegant, and grandiose. With a low cost of between $600 and $1,700, crown molding provides you with an inexpensive way of adding a sparkle to an otherwise mundane space.
We Suggest: If you have more cash to spare, you may even go a step further by adding a tray ceiling or any other wall trim, which should cost you around $3,600.
5. Create Storage Space
A home without enough storage space is often a massive turn off for the majority of new homeowners; homes that have been adapted to utilize the available space fully will often attract a premium price. It helps to create more storage space by, for instance, installing open shelves in the bathroom, laundry, and kitchen for around $2,600.
You can also install some hooks on the back of your doors as a way of increasing storage space. Other great storage ideas for small spaces include adding a closet for approximately $2,000, converting a wall into a bookcase, or setting up a sliding wall.
Expert Recommendation: Floating shelves are also gaining popularity among homeowners. If your house has a loft, you may utilize it as an immediate solution to your storage issues. Also, your basement can be adapted into a storage space by making it damp-proof.
6. Invest in a Sprinkler System
Most homeowners relish the idea of having a perfectly manicured and green lawn but detest the prospect of maintaining the garden through hard work. After planting tons of trees, flowers, and bushes, you may want to invest in a sprinkler system in a bid to make the garden work simpler, which will ultimately elevate the value of your home.
Installing a sprinkler system will cost you between $1,742 and $3,396, which will allow you to effortlessly maintain your home’s curb appeal by providing sufficient watering with little effort.
It also allows you to conserve natural resources by supplying just the right amount of water required by your specific lawn, which reduces wastage. Water conservation appeals immensely to potential homebuyers, especially those who are environmentally conscious.
Home Improvements: $5,000-$8,000
1. Upgrade Your Mechanicals
Mechanicals includes all the components that keep your home running. When upgrading your mechanicals, begin with the basics such as water heaters, electrical panels, and furnace. If, for instance, a prospective home buyer’s report reveals that your furnace is more than 20 years old, the value of your home might plummet drastically.
The buyer is likely to negotiate for a significant credit to replace the furnace or even walk away from the deal, especially if the upgrade appears to be too daunting. A surefire way of getting a strong negotiating position is keeping your property’s mechanicals up-to-date.
2. Create a Home Office
As more companies allow their employees the luxury of telecommuting, it’s not a wonder to see home offices becoming a viable option when looking to increase the value of a property. Having a dedicated workspace comes in handy when looking to remain focused on office work while at home. It essentially improves your concentration when making Skype calls, setting up your workday, planning a presentation, or even paying bills.
If you have some extra space in your home that you rarely utilize, you may want to convert it into a workspace. This could be an entire room or a section of a room subdivided with an acrylic wall panel to create a private work area.
Expert Recommendation: When creating a home office, don’t forget to install grounded outlets, data ports, and an extra phone line. The entire home office construction project should cost you around $5000, which includes computer network wiring installation, hiring a professional organizer, and fitting built-in shelves.
3. Enhance Your Interior Décor
Simple home additions like rugs, throws, and cushions could make a huge difference to the appearance and feel of your property. If you’re looking to sell your home, you will want to make your space more inviting and allow potential buyers to picture the space as somewhere they could potentially reside comfortably.
Ensure that your furniture is comfortable to use and pleasing to look at. Use rugs and carpets to bring together all the décor elements of the room. If you have tiled or hardwood flooring, ensure that they’re neat and presentable by fixing any visible damage. Also, consider updating those lampshades and investing in some artwork to transform your home from a dull space into a sanctuary.
Hire Professional Help: It would also help if you hired a home decorator at an average cost of $1,075. If you’re not contemplating selling your home immediately, an interior designer will come in handy, and they’ll charge you approximately $6,000.
4. Install Branded Products for Fixtures In Your Property
When speaking about fixtures, we are referring to appliances, tapware, and air conditioning units, among other items. During an inspection, a home valuer will be examining the improvements to your property, and seeing popular brands all over will create a positive impression of quality rather than cheap finish.
Quality brands have the potential to reflect well with not only the valuer but also future homebuyers. High-quality fixtures will particularly come in handy when you can’t afford a complete remodel for your bathroom or kitchen. A new faucet costs around $156-$336, while a new AC unit will cost you $3,758-$5,500.
Home Improvements: $8,000-$20,000
1. Update Your Garden
A tidy and well-designed garden will go a long way in adding a great deal of value to your property while also making it more sellable. If your budget doesn’t allow a full garden makeover, you may execute a few basics like clearing away dead plants and litter, weeding, repairing, and feeding the lawn, cutting down overgrown shrubs and trees as well as creating interesting shapes with beds and borders.
Adding planters in a variety of sizes is bound to add color and interest in your garden. While at it, ensure to trim borders and clear pathways.
Pro Tip: Creating a decking area will also give prospective homebuyers a sense of bigger usable space for entertainment and relaxation, a project that requires approximately $8,000.You can also decide to construct a patio enclosure, which is among the most expensive garden upgrades that will cost you around $16,330.
2. Get a Parking Space
Homes without a designated parking spot are often a turnoff to buyers. If you don’t have a carport already, you should consider building one or converting the excess space in your property into this important facility.
Building a carport should cost you around $10,000, which will see the market value of your home increase significantly. With parking prices hitting the roof around the globe, it’s not a wonder to see parking space topping the list of every potential homeowner’s purchase priorities.
3. Install Gas Heating Units and Appliances
Gas systems and appliances are not only cost-effective, but they’re also very energy efficient. For example, a gas heater will afford you all the warmth and comfort of a wood heater without the associated hassle and destruction to the environment.
Experts will, therefore, advise you to install gas cooktops and ovens if you’re looking to add value to your home. These units will provide you with instant heat without producing the harmful emissions typical of electricity, and their installation will cost you between $3,000 and $20,000.
Remember! Unlike oil furnaces that require regular cleaning and maintenance, gas units are virtually maintenance-free, and they don’t make a mess or leave ashes like their wood counterparts. This makes them very attractive to renters and homebuyers. Installing a gas furnace will cost you between $700 and $13,000.
Home Improvement Projects: $20,000-$150,000
1. Convert Your Less UsedSpaces to Living Areas
Transforming your existing spaces like cellars, lofts, garages, and basements into a living or storage space will go a long way in boosting the value of your property. While these projects will call for the skills of a specialist and sometimes local planning permission, they’re bound to prove worthwhile in the long run. You can convert your garage into a living space if you have a parking area outside, a project that will typically cost you around $20,000.
Similarly, a loft can be converted into an extra bedroom with an en suite bathroom. Loft conversion needn’t be expensive or disruptive; roof light conversions are very popular as they require minimal structural changes and they’ll cost you approximately $50,000.
Try This: A basement can be converted into a playroom for your kids, a media room, or a bar. Adding a bathroom to your remodeled basement will serve to increase the value of your home even further. A basement conversion shouldn’t cost you more than $30,000 unless you’re going for a high-end project.
2. Define Your Outdoor Space
If you have an expansive outdoor space, you may boost the purchase price of your home by re-defining it 
into smaller spaces. For instance, your spacious paved or grassed area can be broken up by installing a pergola over one portion to create a well-defined entertainment space.
You could even place a built-in barbecue in there to create an outdoor kitchen, something that may cost you around $20,000.
Other feasible ideas include installing a small plunge pool for between $13,000 and $ 40,000. You may also construct a deck for around $10,000, particularly one with unique features like a fire pit and built-in benches, a project that will cost you approximately.
3. Construct a Granny Flat
Building a granny flat will cost you anything between $40,000 and $125,000. A granny flat denotes a small, self-contained house that’s normally located in the backyard of an existing property. Building a granny flat will not only make your home larger but also increase its likelihood to sell at a higher price.
A granny flat has the potential of making your property more appealing to a larger group of people, including individuals who would rather rent out part of their home, or families looking to create space for their extended family members.
If done correctly, granny flats can accelerate your wealth creation through rental income, which may even help you pay your mortgage. They also serve the primary purpose of providing baby boomers with a haven upon retirement.
The Bottom Line
From updating your interior décor to pricey renovations, there are a lot of changes homeowners can make on their property to boost its value. The impact of a home project or upgrade will, however, depend on your region and the market in which you are staging your property. For instance, some projects, like adding wooden floors and pools, tend to have a bigger impact on the more luxurious homes. Conversely, smaller undertakings like a kitchen remodel and creating a full bathroom will have a greater effect on less expensive properties.