Major upgrades to improve the value of your home

When it comes to the value of your home, some factors are in your control and some are not. The value of similar homes in your area is not, but this is a significant factor in determining the value of your home. Few things will actually make your home worth much more than comparable homes. What you’ll find is that these projects just so happen to make your home less similar to those other homes.

One cave at its important to be aware of: you can expect your major home upgrades to have less of a return than the money you put in. That being said, it can still be a good investment. The best way to get your money’s worth is to do these projects long before you sell --- that way, you have years to enjoy them yourself.

1. Add square footage.

Build a garage, sun room or other addition. Even just increasing the usable space can add some value, like finishing a basement or attic.

2. Add a bedroom or extra room.

Even without increasing square footage, you might be able to increase your home’s value by adding another room. An extra large room can be divided, or multiple walls can be moved to take space from different rooms. Be careful not to make other rooms feel small and crowded in the process.

Note that he more rooms your house has, the less value you can expect to gain from another room. A 2 bed/2 bath can really use another bedroom, which can be used as an office if not needed. But adding a 6 th bedroom to a 5 bedroom house might not add any value at all.

3. Add a bathroom.

This is most pertinent if there is a large imbalance between the number of bathrooms and the number of bedroom. 1 bathroom is simply not ideal for a 3 bedroom home, but 3 bathrooms in the same house is a bit excessive.

4. Make an important room (ie, kitchen, bathroom, master bedroom or living room) larger.

If you can steal some space from, say, a large closet, bedroom, or dining room, you could improve one of the most important rooms in the house. This only makes sense if the room can truly benefit from it; there’s not going to be much return on making your bathroom or kitchen cavernous.

Smaller upgrades: For some smaller scale projects to give your home a revamped feel, you can modernize it. Think energy efficiency, updated appliances, updated security, new flooring, and fresh paint. Light can help brighten a space and even make it feel more spacious.

For more on these smaller upgrades, see this. For help preparing your home to sell, contact and experienced agent at Better Properties Eastside.