For most of us, the first home we buy will be the last home we buy. For some, though, the opportunity to call another house home presents itself. And if that opportunity lands in your lap, one of the first things that marches to the front of your mind will be selling the house you live in. Gone – perhaps – are the days of simply giving the place a deep clean and sticking a ‘for sale’ sign outside, gone – at least – if you want to get the most you can for it.
These days, you need to flex your renovation muscles if you want to add as much value to your home as possible. But where to begin? Well, before you start knocking down walls and rolling out the dust extractor, here are six renovation projects to help you get a higher resale price.
1. Paint, glorious fresh paint.
Yes, it’s the first renovation project that comes to mind, and with good reason. Unless your home is situated on a dusty street in Havana or nestled upon a cliff somewhere along the Amalfi Coast, being covered in patches of faded, peeling paint will not add to its charm. Nor will it add to its resale price. Make sure you take care of the inside too, as there is nothing worse for potential buyers than wandering through a house decorated with scuffs and chip marks.
It must be said, though, of many renovation projects you can do, this is one of the most enjoyable, as it allows you to reimagine the place you call home. One last time.
2. Make an entrance.
When you paint the outside of your home, make sure you pay particular attention to the front. First impressions are real, very real. Come auction day, if your home’s facade is beaming seductively at the potential buyers gathered at its feet, there’s a greater chance that one – or all – of them will muster the courage and introduce themselves.
From updating any outdoor furniture to painting the front door a striking colour to repairing the front fence and letterbox, anything you think will help make passersby look a second time will help improve the resale price.
3. The Great Outdoors.
Of all the spaces in your home, the outdoor area is the one area that doesn’t have a fixed role. While the kitchen is for cooking, say, and the bedroom is for sleeping, the outdoor area can be anything you want; which means, in essence, that you have a little more free reign – budget permitting, of course – with its redesign. It’s also the space in your home that will appeal most to the imaginations of potential buyers. Everyone loves to imagine how they’d use a wonderful outdoor space, and if you give it the proper treatment, it could prove the pièce de résistance that sends the resale price soaring.
4. Flooring, flooring, flooring.
Much like the fresh coat of paint you gave the walls, the floors in your home may need a little love and care. Or a complete makeover. There’s no use having the carpets cleaned only to find they still look tired and uninspired. Having them replaced – if they need it – will add a level of vibrancy to home that potential buyers will notice the moment they step inside.
The same goes for wooden floorboards. If they look as worn as an old school desk, it’s time to have them re-sanded. Again, if you make the effort and make them look stunning, it’s likely they’ll receive your revamped home’s first compliment.
5. Kitchen this, kitchen that.
As the beating heart of your home, it would be foolish not to consider what you can do to make your kitchen better, given it will soon be the beating heart of someone else’s home. The tricky thing with the kitchen is that there’s often so much you feel you can do to improve it that it becomes overwhelming. Which is fair. Some much activity and interaction goes on in the kitchen; if something doesn’t look or work quite right, there’s often nowhere for it to hide.
Rather than feel overwhelmed at the idea of renovating your kitchen – and remember, there’s nothing to gain if it doesn’t need renovating—look at small details you feel could be improved. The win you’re looking for may be something as simple and hassle free as updating the cupboard and cabinet handles.
6. In new taps we trust.
As well as replacing the handles in your kitchen, it might be time to replace the taps as well. In fact, it might be time to replace the taps everywhere else in your home. Few things in your home are used as constantly as taps, which means that when it comes time to sell, some of them mightn’t be the stellar servants they once were.
Similar to new light switches – which is another thing you consider replacing – new taps are one of those particular details potential buyers will fixate on. Make no mistake. Maybe it’s our collective love for shiny metal objects, but if the taps aren’t catching the light, your home mightn’t catch the right attention.
While each of these suggestions is a genuine way to boost the resale price of your home, it’s important to remember there are countless other ways. The best approach you can take is to carefully and thoroughly assess what needs repairing or improving, rather than simply renovating for the sake of it. If you do that, you put yourself in the best position to make your home worthy of the resale price it deserves. Good luck!
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This is a sponsored article produced in partnership with Digital Next.