Are you looking to update your house? If you are thinking you might be selling in a few years, then beginning a renovation project takes on new meaning. The reason for this is simple. You want to make sure you get back the money you put into your house when you sell. So what are the best home renovations that boost home values?
I did a lot of researching on this topic as we wanted to update our house, but had plans on selling within a year’s time. We knew if we spent our money wisely, we could make back the money we spent in the form of a higher selling price.
So in this post, I am going to share with you the best home renovations that boost home values. You can decide which ones you want to tackle and which ones don’t make sense for you.
4 Home Renovations That Boost Home Values
#1. Kitchen
Far and away the best of the home renovations that boost home values is your kitchen. And this makes sense. Most people spend the majority of their time in and around the kitchen. By making sure yours is updated, you can easily make back the money you spent and more.
But you have to be smart about it. You can’t blindly spend and expect to make everything back. After all, not all buyers are going to love your top of the line backsplash and be willing to pay a higher price because of it.
So you need to be smart. Update in as budget friendly way as possible. For us, the biggest savings were on the cabinets. Ours were in good condition, they just needed updating. So instead of paying $15,000 for new cabinets, we paid $3,000 and got new doors and painted the old cabinets to match.
The difference was remarkable and you couldn’t tell they weren’t new cabinets. The next area we saved money was on the countertop. You can get some good deals on granite countertops and there are other types of countertops too. Be sure to shop around for the best deal.
Finally, pay attention to your appliances. Again, no need to go top of the line here, buy what makes the most sense for you. And if you have to replace more than one, see if you can get a discount from the store by buying everything there.
Paying with cash doesn’t hurt either and smaller appliance stores may give you a discount for paying this way.
#2. Bathroom
The next room to consider updating is your bathroom. Going from a single sink to a vanity with two sinks is where you will get the most bang for your buck. Be sure to consider the shower as well.
With the shower you can get away with a premium shower head, like a rainfall one, and skip a major remodel.
Updating the paint color also will help give the room a warmer and updated feeling.
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#3. Front Door
As crazy as this sounds, a new front door boosts your home resale value a lot. And, getting a new door won’t cost you an arm and a leg. You can opt for steel, but a high quality fiberglass door will do just fine.
Be sure though to take your time on choosing the color. You could stick with a muted color and have your front door blend in with the rest of your house, or you could choose a brighter color to make it stand out and draw attention to your house.
#4. Landscaping
Finally, there is landscaping. You don’t have to go overboard here either. Laying down some fresh mulch, cleaning up weeds and borders, and pruning your existing plants and shrubs will do wonders. As will making your lawn look good.
If you have many plants crammed together, consider removing a couple here and there to open it up. This will make everything feel larger and give a cleaner look as well.
Even though this tip is last, don’t overlook it. I know when we tackled home projects, landscaping was the first thing we did. When I would pull into the driveway and see how great the house looked from the outside, it made me happier when I went inside. And we didn’t do anything to the inside of the house yet!
Potential home buyers will feel the same way too. They will fall in love with the house before even entering.
Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, there are only a few best home renovations that boost home values. Don’t waste your time or money on things that won’t help you get your money back when you go to sell. Your goal is to update your house so you enjoy it, but also to please the future home buyer as well.
If you stick to this plan, you should be able to get the majority of the money you spent updating your house back when you sell it.
This is what happened for us. We did a few updates including the kitchen, master bathroom and landscaping. When we sold, we got an offer that was higher than what we could have gotten had we not done any of the updates.
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