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Six Ways to Increase Your Home’s Value

Six Ways to Increase Your Home’s Value

February 14, 2019

Many people make improvements to their homes in hopes that it will increase their resale value. However, these investments do not necessarily produce good returns when the homes are sold. For instance, while garage doors tend to recoup the majority of their original cost, luxury bathrooms and swimming pools tend not to pay off. For this reason, it’s important to consider whether you’ll be able to recoup the costs of your project when it comes time to sell your home.

In this guide, we’ll share six of the best home improvements to increase home value.

1. Revamp a Room

Some homeowners attempt to increase their home value by adding rooms to their home, but this project can be exceedingly costly. While it is possible to recover some of your costs — ranging from 50 to 83 percent — expenses can quickly become unmanageable. Look at any remodeling program on TV, and you’ll notice that a budget of $15,000 can quickly double or more due to the unexpected difficulties that contractors and homeowners may encounter.

To avoid this potential nightmare, consider revamping an existing room in your house. This could be anything from finishing your basement to converting your attic into a sleeping area. Some even choose to make the rooms over their garages into little apartments and rent them out.

Before knocking down any walls, give some thought to how you — and buyers in the future — could make use of the room. Keep the following in mind when considering a room remodel:

  • The Use Should Be Versatile: Buyers are more likely to enjoy spaces that can serve multiple purposes.
  • Basements Have Lots of Potential: Many people choose to convert their basements into game rooms, living rooms or even a living space for a tenant or aging relative.
  • Attics Are Also Ideal: Your attic could become a game room or craft room, particularly if the ceilings are sufficiently high. Homeowners with children may want to convert it into a playroom or hang swings from the rafters.

The kitchen and bathroom are two spaces where small renovations equal big returns. In the bathroom, just replacing the plumbing, lighting, vanity and flooring is sure to add significant value to your home and give the room a more modern look.

The same applies to the kitchen — you can begin by replacing a single item, like an old microwave or stained sink for new, shiny models. Even little improvements like these will lead to significant increases in value. In fact, the 2019 Cost vs. Value report from Remodeling Magazine found that you can recoup 80.5 percent of costs with minor midrange kitchen remodels.

2. Improve Your Landscaping

Overgrown trees and untrimmed shrubbery can block views, make the inside darker, lead to mold growth and cover up the exterior of the house. In short, landscaping can have an enormous impact on the curb appeal of your home. Good landscaping can increase your home’s value by up to 20 percent.

 

 

When selling homes, however, landscaping is one of the aspects most homeowners overlook. According to Roger Voisinet, a real estate agent in Charlottesville, VA, for 37 years, said that investing several hundred dollars in your landscaping may lead to a “significant difference” when it comes to selling your home.

According to studies done by the American Nursery Landscape Association, homeowners spend around $3502 on landscaping and an average of $1465 on a designer. If you don’t know where you should start, go to your local garden center and see if they offer design services, which are sometimes free. You can also talk with the neighbors to see what they do.

Here are a few tips for improving your landscaping:

  • Color in the Front Catches the Eye: An excellent way to catch the attention of buyers is by adding some color around the front side of your home. For the most significant impact, limit it to a single color and stagger the heights of the plants.
  • The Doorway Shouldn’t Be Overwhelmed by Plants: If your front door is at risk of being swallowed up by surrounding plants, cut them down with your shears and replace them with foundation plants — preferably flowering varieties. Try mixing the colors and heights for a more dramatic effect.
  • Create an Inviting Focal Point: Walkways, fountains and other pleasant focal points can significantly increase the value of your home. If you roll sealant on flagstones, it will create a permanently wet appearance that brings out the color.

3. Replace Old Doors or Windows

Replacing old doors and windows is a great way to improve your home’s energy efficiency, which, in turn, will likely increase your home’s value.

Windows

The return on investment for window replacements is generally very high. The national average cost of replacing 10 windows measuring 3 by 5 feet is roughly $9700, and the average costs recovered are $8700 — a nearly 90 percent recoup rate.

This is because buyers these days look for highly energy-efficient homes, and houses that have drafty, old windows with single panes are unlikely to sell fast. By replacing single-pane windows with Energy Star-rated ones, you can save up to $465 a year.

Of course, the amount you recoup will depend on where you live. For instance, you are likely to recoup more than you spend in big cities such as San Francisco, Chicago, New York and Boston. But, if you live in a hot climate, you’re less likely to get a good return. In the deserts of Las Vegas, for example, you’ll only likely to recoup 62 percent of the window replacement costs.

According to an estimate by Energy Star, replacing your windows for an average-sized house could cost from $7500 to $10,000.

Doors

Upgrading your front door offers a great return on investment for two main reasons:

  • Increased energy savings
  • Enhanced curb appeal

Think of your front door as the first chance to impress your guests or potential buyers. When shopping for your front door, buying a steel door will likely pay off the most when it comes time to sell. You can choose a modern, craftsman or rustic style to reflect your tastes and make your exterior feel more unified. These sturdy doors also provide great security.

If a front door replacement is out of your budget, a fresh coat of paint — especially a calming green or energetic red — can transform the feel of your home for relatively little money.

4. Consider Green Power

Switching to green power can significantly improve the value of your home, depending on the region you live in. In places where the heat or cold can be extreme, the increase in home value is greater.

Some cost-effective ways to make your home more energy-efficient include:

  • Improved insulation in your attic 
  • Efficient appliances
  • LED lighting
  • Double-paned windows

If you’re feeling more ambitious, consider installing solar panels. However, keep in mind that a solar panel installation is a big commitment both financially and structurally, so you should only go through with it if you plan to increase your home’s value in the long run and are not just searching for a fast way to boost your resale value.

Have your utility company or an energy auditor figure out where your house is most inefficient and determine the upgrades that will give you the most significant energy savings.

5. Add an Outdoor Space

When considering ways to add value to your property, think outside the house. Decks or patios with space for chairs and a grill are excellent ways to make a space for enjoying the outdoors. In recent years, these outdoor spaces have increased in popularity, especially considering more people spend their vacations at home.

Installing a deck can vary widely in cost, as it largely depends on the size, the materials and the extras you want to add, such as multiple stairs and built-in seating. The cost ranges from $1200 to $10,000 — and sometimes even more.

Despite the costs, the recoup rate for outdoor spaces can be extremely high. For instance, installing a pressure-treated deck made of wood that measures 16 by 20 feet costs around $11,000, but you’ll get around $10,000 of the expenses back at resale — a 90 percent recoup rate.

However, when designing this space, you may want to to make it as low-maintenance as possible, particularly considering your buyers could be millennials. While millennials are fond of outdoor areas, they tend to care less for pools, being aware of all the upkeep that they require. They instead prefer low-maintenance spaces like fire pits with a simple arrangement of chairs.

When designing the landscape around your outdoor space, don’t make it overly lush, especially if you live in a drier area where water is costly. One recommendation is to replace turfgrass with peal gravel or native soil covers — not only will this require less maintenance, but it will also look more interesting.

When designing your outdoor space, keep the following tips in mind:

  • Putting decorative planters on the patio, decks and front porch can add visual appeal.
  • Make your courtyard more impressive with charming gates, mature plantings and inviting lighting. Tiny improvements like these can be very impactful at closing.
  • Ensure your railings are attractive and safe. Old-looking stairs will decrease your margin of profit.
  • You can use a wood trellis to hide heat pumps and other unattractive things.

6. Update or Add a Garage

The greatest single way to boost the resale value of your home is perhaps updating or adding a garage. Remodeling Magazine found that homeowners who remodeled their garage doors in 2019 recouped 97.5 percent of the costs when selling their houses.

Here are four ways an updated garage can increase home value:

  • Curb Appeal: On average, a garage door comprises 30 percent of a home’s exterior. Because of its prominence, your garage door’s style establishes the tone for potential buyers before even going inside your house. When choosing a style, make sure it complements the style and architecture of your exterior.
  • Extra Living Space: While many homeowners pour money into revamping their bathroom or kitchen, not many spend time finishing their garages. However, a finished garage may be the very thing that wins over a potential buyer. Adding drywall, flooring and lighting are all part of turning your garage into a more functional space that can serve as a workshop, game room or even a bedroom.
  • Parking Space and Protection: One of the most appealing aspects of a garage is the purpose it was originally intended for — to park and protect your car. This can be especially appealing to potential buyers who previously lived urban apartments, where parking is often hard to find and vehicles are often burglarized.
  • More Space for Storage: Open-concept floor plans are becoming increasingly popular, but it has come at the expense of storage space. Garages, as a result, have become an increasingly popular space to store stuff. If your garage is well-organized and features shelves and hooks, it may be a major selling feature for those looking for storage space.

If you’re thinking about adding a garage, one important consideration is whether you want your garage to be attached or detached. To make the best choice, consider the following factors:

  • Curb Appeal: If your garage is attached but on the front of the house, it can decrease the curb appeal of your home, especially if your home is not particularly big.
  • Consistency: If you have a detached garage but everyone else in the neighborhood has attached garages, this could lower the value of your home.
  • Climate: If you live in an area that’s unusually cold, hot or rainy, your home will be much more valuable with an attached garage.

If your garage door is broken or not functioning properly, get it fixed as soon as possible. A malfunctioning door could decrease your home’s value, as no potential buyer will want to see that such an essential system is not working correctly. If your garage door needs a repair, contact a certified technician to get it back up and running right away.

Contact Halo Overhead Doors

If you need a garage door repair or replacement, call Halo Overhead Doors, Houston’s most trusted full-service overhead door company. At Halo, we sell doors that are attractive, long-lasting durable and offer a more extensive selection of doors than any other dealer in the area. We also have the distinction of being Houston’s only Clopay Master Dealer, the highest-quality brand on the market.

We provide sales, installation and service for both residences and businesses and aim to get the job done promptly to the complete satisfaction of our customers. For this reason, we offer many generous deals, such as 0 percent financing, price matching and the Clopay Gold Bar Warranty

At Halo Overhead Doors, we believe each door is the opportunity to serve others. For any questions about our services, feel free to call 713-224-3667. If you’re not sure which model you want, a member of our experienced team can help you choose the perfect door for your home.

You can also request an estimate using our online form.

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