DIY Home Improvements when Selling Your Home
Does your house have vinyl siding? How does is look? Would it be worth your money to go ahead and buy new vinyl siding? If it isn’t, consider renting a power washer to go ahead and wash off the siding. This will give your siding a newer look. Be careful though, those power washers are so strong, they can take the paint off of a car! Trust me on that one. If your house does not have any siding on it, a new coat of paint would add curb appeal to your house. Let’s face it, there are a lot of people that judge a house by the outside. They won’t want to even step foot in the house of the outside of it looks like it was chewed on by a very large dog.
Another consideration for getting a good return on home improvements is creating a deluxe bathroom. Installing a water-saving toilet or a deluxe vanity helps the appeal of the bathroom. If your budget allows it, ceramic flooring could also be a consideration. I’ve recently seen a bathroom where the faucet for the bathtub was like a waterfall. It was very appealing, and if I would have had the money, I would definitely install one.
If you own a home with a basement, finish it! There are plenty of little things that can be done down in a basement. Painting, putting up new trim, and installing vinyl flooring can be a selling point for your house. Make a closet under the stairs and you’ve created another storage space for the house! Change the light fixtures to help put the final touches on this project.
A forced air furnace can be replaced with a high-energy forced air furnace. In the end, this will save money for either you or the person buying your house. You might want to also consider installing central air if the house has none. Both of these projects should be done by a professional. They are also expensive projects. So watch your budget!!
Landscaping! Finally something that I am interested in. doing simple landscaping techniques could help add curb appeal to your home. Planting new grass seed or some bushes will help make your house not look like it is on a pile of dirt. Making some flower beds in front of the house or planting rose bushes will give the outside some color. There are some things to be aware of when taking part in this adventure. It is very easy to go over budget on this aspect. Try to hit stores when they are having spring sales. Also, when buying rose bushes, be careful about buy climbing rose bushes…they often over take the others and are sometimes hard to keep to a specific area.
If making a deluxe bathroom seems to far out of your budget, try making your standard bathroom a little bit better. Put on new faucet handles or light fixtures. If part of your bathroom is able to be painted, go ahead and give it a new coat. You can also go to a hardware store and find some really pretty outlet covers to add some pizzazz to your bathroom. These improvements are really simple and could make a difference in selling your home.
Is your kitchen looking a little dull? Install some new countertops or flooring. New cabinets can also improve the kitchen situation. If new cabinets are definitely out of budget, return back to the hardware store where you got the bathroom socket covers and buy some new cabinets handles for the kitchen. Heck, go all out and get some new light socket covers for the kitchen as well. If a budget is not a concern to you, consider putting in some newer appliances. You can always keep the old ones, or sell them for money.
Finally something that can be done by anyone. Give the interior of your house a facelift. Paint the rooms in your house. Make sure you go with colors that would appeal to a wide range of people. I don’t, by any means, mean to paint the entire inside of the house white. I do mean, however that maybe that lime green for the dining room should be thought through a little more. Replacing the carpet in a few places would also work. Also, if your house is an older house that has carpet throughout. Make sure you look under it. A friend of mine was ripping up carpet in her house one day and found some beautiful hardwood floors underneath. (This would make the house have yet another selling point.) Replace light fixtures and socket covers. You can even put up some new trim! This is an area where you could go all out, or just a little. The best time to find all of this stuff is to wait until spring or fall sales at hardware stores. You can get items at great discounts and still be within your budget.
So if you are looking at improving your home, try a few of these tips. A little improvement never hurt anyone, especially if you want to put your house on the market!
