In the US, the average price of a home is $511,400. Whatever your home is worth, you can maximize its value by making sensible changes.
Add a Floor!
Many home-owners pour money into creating a basement or converting a loft. Doing either of these could be increasing your home’s price tag by around 20%. Being able to add a floor to your home’s description makes it a much more attractive purchase to buyers.
Loft Conversion
Converting essentially adds another floor to your home. You could use this space to add bathrooms, bedrooms, an office, storage space, or even a walk-in wardrobe.
When converting a loft, remember to insulate properly. Of course, a loft is only as useful as it is accessible. Lofts are particularly sensitive to heat, and need to be insulated properly.
By converting a loft, you could be increasing the sale value of your home by around 20%.
Adding a basement or loft to your home adds both a floor and a potential 20% of value
Basement
As a general rule, the added value of creating a basement equates to 50-60% of the value of the main level square footage. This can be optimized by using a basement to accommodate popular forms of rooms, such as am office space, a basement bathroom, an additional bedroom, or a gym.
Basements are pricey because they require significant labor and time. It is recommended that the budget for creating the basement remains lower than 10% of your home’s value.
Like a loft, once you’ve completed your basement, you could be adding 20% on top of your home’s initial value.
Perfect Your Rooms
When showing your house to potential buyers, they will be judging your home based on the aesthetics, as well as its structure. If home improvements are your thing, it is therefore worth investing in polishing off the rooms, with a lick of paint, swapping out the single glazing for double glazing, and ensuring there aren’t significant cracks in the floor. Bathrooms and kitchens are at the forefront of buyers’ minds. You can preempt that, and make little changes to up the value of your home by around 5-10%.
Garden
86% of US homes have a garden, and this represents another opportunity to maximize the value of your home. Buyers are typically impressed by nice patio areas, fixed lighting, organized brickwork, and un-overgrown greenery.
Kitchen
From countertops to flooring to sinks, there are plenty of ways you can improve your kitchen, allowing you to increase your property’s value by up to 30%. Of course, that’s an optimistic number, but kitchens are high on the priority list of buyers.
An attractive kitchen is one of the first priorities on buyers’ minds when viewing a home
Miscellaneous Elements
Ensure that you have an updated water system, electricity and gas system, and that your insulation is reliable.
If you have a parking area, make sure it’s looked after. If you have an electric car charge point you intend to leave there, let them know!
If your plug sockets don’t work, have them fixed, and have any loose wires sorted before displaying your home to your potential buyers.
