Whether you are looking to sell your home or just feel like undertaking a new project, there are several simple ways to improve the value of your home. Increasing the value of your home is always a good idea, but only up to a point.

Know where to invest your dollars

Improving your home has value, but be sure to plan it out rather than acting on impulse. Before starting any project, make sure you know your home. Understand what can be improved and what is not worth investing in. Make a list of things you want to improve, but do your research. If you are selling your house talk with your realtor to see what their professional opinion is. A realtor will know what upgrades sell best, so listen to what they have to say.

When you do have a plan of attack, take it one room at a time. Rather than putting your entire house under renovation, start with one room or project. This keeps your projects manageable and gives you milestones to achieve, rather than one big end goal.

Paint Goes a Long Way

A new coat of paint is one of the simplest and easiest ways to update your home. Freshly painted rooms look new, clean, and up to date. This makes your house more valuable. There are some generally safe and reliable paint colours; neutral colours appeal to most people and while bold colours can be fun they might not be to everyone’s liking. On average a gallon of paint will run you $25. Add that to the other supplies like brushes, tape, and tarps, and painting is one of the cheapest ways to improve your home.

The Great Outdoors

Curb appeal is highly important when you are trying to make your house more appealing. Curb appeal is the first thing a person sees when walking up to your house. It is the first impression. Take a good look at your house, consider bringing in a professional to look with you, and see where you can make improvements. Perhaps you could plant a tree, hang some decorative lights, paint your front door, add some general landscaping, or make a new path to your front door.

If you do decide to add some plants to your front yard, think green. Look for plants that are native to your area and that are easy to maintain. While you might enjoy plants are tricky to keep, the next owner might not. Think of the common denominator. Keep your greenery choices simple and manageable to make your home more appealing to other buyers.

Curb appeal does not stop at your property line, the whole neighbourhood counts. While you can’t clean and improve your neighbour’s property without their permission, you can ask your neighbours to beautify the neighbourhood. Gather your community for a neighbourhood clean up day where everyone helps each other make the area look nicer. If everyone pitches in, the process will be much easier and the whole neighbourhood will look better.

Kitchen Projects

Any real estate agent will tell you the best place to improve your house is the kitchen. Upgrading your kitchen, even in small ways, will always be the best room in the house to invest in.

There are easy ways to spice up your kitchen. Change the paint on the walls or restain the cabinets for a new look. If you are up for a slightly harder project, change out your backsplash tile. You can take classes on how to change the tile yourself or there are professionals who will do it for you.

It is worth your time to improve your house as it will only increase how much it is worth. When it comes time to sell all your hard work will pay off. Don’t make your house the most expensive in your neighbourhood, but make it a proud point. Try changing the paint for a simple facelift. Get the whole neighborhood together to improve everyone’s curb appeal and raise the value for the area. If you only want to boost the value of one room, make it the kitchen. Doing any of these projects is sure to help your home’s value.