Tips to improve the value of your home

Home improvements may seem expensive, but they often will pay off in the future.

Home improvements may seem expensive, but they often will pay off in the future.

Your home has been good to you. It gave you the space you needed to start a family, but now you have outgrown that space. You want to sell, but you want to make sure you get enough out of your house for a decent down payment on the next one.

The good news is, with a little sprucing up, you can do just that. Here are some things to consider upgrading on your home before putting it on the market:

  • Adding a bathroom or bedroom. Attic spaces are some of the easier places to turn into bedrooms. So are dens. Sometimes, the only thing that keeps a den from being a bedroom is the lack of a closet. If you are handy with tools, you can do it yourself, or hire a contractor. For a bathroom, typically the easiest places are in the basement, near the pipes. Or, you can try turning a walk-in closet into a bathroom.
  • Sprucing up existing bathrooms. If adding a bathroom isn’t an option, try sprucing up the bathrooms you do have. Update that boring old floor with some newer sheet vinyl or vinyl tiles, which are easy to replace. Even changing out the toilet seat can make a difference.
  • Upgrade the kitchen. This is one place where you might not want to go overboard. Many buyers want to customize the kitchen, so throwing a lot of money into this room might not be the most prudent thing to do. But, there are a couple cheap fixes to make it more attractive. For instance, you can add new handles to the cabinets and drawers. You can paint the outside of the cabinet and drawers as well. Updating the light fixture is another way to give it a modern feel.

Common maintenance items, such as fixing leaks in the roof, sealing cracks in the foundation and other tasks can also help boost the value of your home.

You should also do your research as to what the homes around you offer. For example, if most homes have two-and-a-half bathrooms and your home only has one-and-a-half, it may be worth it to add another full bathroom.

When you are ready to move on to your next home, Timberwood Bank can help with the financial side of things. Our mortgage lenders keep things simple to allow more time to focus on moving your family. Get in touch with any of our mortgage lenders today to get started!

 

Timberwood Bank, Member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender