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As a home owner you want to increase the value of your home. One way to do this is to tend your house with care. Increasing home value is an important consideration whether or not you want to sell your home or buy one for the purpose of creating wealth. Whether you're a home seller or buyer, increasing home value is something that concerns you, and is much simpler than you think. All you need to do is follow a plan.

Before you begin to renovate your home, walk around your house with the eyes of a prospective buyer and look for areas that need to be updated, repaired or improved. The tips provided below can be carried out by a confident DIY enthusiast or for the not so handy, a quick call to your local tradesman will save any headaches. Before anything else is done to increase home value it is a good idea to clean the house both interiorly and exteriorly. Cleaning increases the home value and remember every buyer loves a neat home. So if you really want to increase your home’s value, ensure that the carpets are cleaned, the bathrooms well polished and the garage is swept.

The First Steps Towards Your Renovation Success

Before you even begin, ask yourself the question, “Will this remodeling project enhance my life?” If it will, then it is worth considering for that reason alone. But three key factors determine whether it’s likely to pay off financially too.

The neighbourhood you live in

Make your house as attractive as others in the neighbourhood but not significantly more attractive. You are unlikely to recoup the cost if you send a substantially large amount. Compare your home to others in the same area and price range before deciding how much to spend. For example, don’t add an outdoor deck to your home to enhance the value, if other houses in the neighbourhood don’t have one.

The cost

Sinking $50,000 into a house won’t automatically add $50,000 to its value. A modest makeover may pay off better than a big-budget project. Adding a second bathroom clearly makes a house much more attractive, but the cost can range from $15,000 to $50,000 or more. It pays to get several bids, and save on costs.

The local real estate market

In a hot market, home improvements can add dramatically to the resale value of a home, however in a sluggish market, they don’t pay for themselves. A $15,000 kitchen refurbishment project in a booming market could increase the value of a house by $22,000. In a depressed market - the same project cost of $15,000 could add just $4000 to the resale value. To be successful, a home improvement must repay you emotionally as well as financially.

What You Can Do To Enhance The Value Of Your Home

So, all things being equal, which projects are the most likely to add value to your home? Here are simple cost effective steps you can take to add value to your home in the shortest possible time.

Make Over Your Kitchen—Sensibly
One of the most obvious places to start improving your home is renovating an outdated kitchen. Resist the temptation to splurge on expensive items like hand-painted tiles and built-in cappuccino makers. Focus on the basics: replacing existing cabinets; installing a new oven, cooktop and sink; putting in new floor and wall tiles or a splashback., For a new kitchen that cost around $17,000 last year you can easily add $23,000 to the resale value.

Spruce up your Old Bathroom

Remodeling an old bathroom is always a good idea—and it costs much less than updating a kitchen. This project typically includes installing a new bathtub, toilet and vanity counter with a double sink, plus a recessed medicine cabinet, ceramic-tile floor. For an estimate average cost: of $3,000 you could easily add $8,000 to the vale of your house.

Most Desired Extra: A Second Bathroom. No improvement is more essential to a family’s comfort than a second bathroom. A typical midpriced addition could include a tub/ shower with ceramic tile surround, a low-profile toilet, a cultured-marble vanity top, a mirrored medicine cabinet, linen storage, and general and spot lighting, vinyl wallpaper and a ceramic-tile floor. An average cost for these amenities would be $21,087, and the average value added to the house $30,000 depending on the market.

Avoid Surprises

Don’t forget to check local zoning laws before remodeling. In Minneapolis five years ago, a home owner was in mid-bathroom renovation when she learned she needed five permits: “an inspection permit for the demolition, separate permits for plumbing, electrical and mechanical, plus an overall work permit!” As a result, the job took longer than expected. “My house only had one-and-a-half bathrooms,” she recalls, “so for six weeks, I was washing my hair in the kitchen sink and visiting friends on weekends to take showers.” Another surprise: Because the house was old, all of its plumbing had to be upgraded to meet current building-code specifications—adding $4000 to the total. “Still,” the owner notes, “when I sold the house 18 months later, I got all the renovation costs back in the sale price.”

Pay Attention To The Exterior

Buyers decide whether to get out of their car and look at a house based on its exterior appearance. Some of the most financially rewarding outdoor projects are repainting roof tiles, replacing siding and adding an outdoor deck.

Touch-Ups Add Appeal

An inexpensive way to enhance your house is to install a simple hanging storage wall system in the garage. A survey found that buyers value garage storage capacity more than a big kitchen, formal dining room or big backyard! Spend on “curb appeal,” realtors advise. Wash windows, trim bushes, recoat your driveway, repaint the front door—and make sure the doorbell works. It is also worthwhile to pay someone to clean your house once a week while it’s on the market. A house that’s neat and clean tells buyers a lot about how you take care of the property

Painting also increases home value but the right choice of color is also important. Painting makes your home look cleaner, makes smaller rooms look bigger and creates a clear vision for prospective buyers, on how their house will look when they move in.

A third tip is landscaping. Having a beautiful lawn and flowers makes any house inviting. This is of importance if your purpose of increasing home value is to sell the property. An attractive house creates the right impression about the property and the owner in the mind of prospective buyers.

Finally, if you are renovating to sell your home establishment of a good rapport between yourself and prospective buyers is very important. Make every buyer feel at home as this would increase home value in the mind of the buyer.

So whether you’re renovating to add value to your property or sell for the highest profit prepare a plan and follow the basics and you will produce the expected result –increase the value of your home.