When I sold my property in 2015 I had been trying my best for many months prior to the purchase to make my home more valuable and ultimately, more salable. At that time I didn’t have a whole lot of money to invest and I even spoke to a lender about borrowing some cash to try to add value to the home. Somewhere in-between signing fraud proaction paperwork and reviewing the terms I stumbled across an article from the property investment group Investar USA, who were speaking about low cost ways to add value to the property. I decided not to borrow any money but to instead look for budget hacks which could boost the home’s value, and here is how I did it.
Details
The first place I started was to go around the property and look at updating some of the details. And so I bought a huge can of gloss white paint and went all around the skirting boards in the house, as well as the coving. I also managed to pick up some bulk packs of light switches and plug sockets, which I then proceeded to replace. In total this all cost me less than $100 and it had a huge impact on the interior of the home, giving it a fresh and modern look.
Garden
For as long as I was in that property I always wanted to renovate the garden but I could just never find the money to do it with. I read that over 70% of house hunters in the USA want homes which have a neat and tidy garden and so I decided to address it. Instead of investing huge amounts of money in the garden I spent a weekend in there with some friends, giving it a big tidy, getting rid of weeds, treating the lawn and sprucing up some of the ornaments in the outdoor area. Here I spent around $200 and a weekend of work, and the garden looked radically transformed. To give you an indication of the difference this made, one couple visiting even commented on how great it looked!
Entrance
I read a lot about first impressions which people have when they visit a property and so I decided to give the front of house a look. I re-painted the front door, repaired a small wall out front and pressure washed the garage door and the driveway. Once again I spent very little on this, perhaps around $50 and the difference was remarkable.
Fixings
I would have loved to put a new kitchen and bathroom into the property as I know how attractive it can be to a buyer, but I just didn’t have the funds to do it with. And so instead of that I replaced all of the taps and fixings in both kitchen and bathroom, as well as giving the ceilings a new coat of paint. These rooms looked great afterwards and once again it was an inexpensive way to boost these rooms.
What you need more than anything is to invest time and hard work into the home, do that and you can help to boost both value and salability.
