Articles | The Holm Group

5 Strategies to Add Market Value to Your Home As is the case with most Americans, your home is likely your most significant financial investment. Thus, like most people, you desire to enhance the market value of your home whenever possible. There are five strategies that you should consider employing as a means of upping the market value of your residences. Improve Your Home's Curb Appeal One of the key steps you can take to at least somewhat up the market value of your residence is to improve its overall curb appeal. In addition to increasing the value of your residence, improving your home's curb appeal also makes your home more attractive to house hunters if you elect to your property on the market for sale. There are some basic steps you can take to enhance the curb appeal of your home. These include: · re-painting the exterior · tidying up landscaping · adding some basic landscaping · repairing cracked concrete in drive, sidewalks · giving entryway a facelift · adding grounds lighting Add or Improve Your Deck Another way in which you can increase the market value of your home is to add a deck or improve the look and appearance of an existing deck. You can make a deck at your residence a true extension of the living space of your home. Indeed, oftentimes when a deck is added or improved at a residence, the deck itself very well become one of the primary focal points of the residence. There are a number of items or elements that you will want to consider seriously including as part of a deck addition or improvement. As part of your deck addition or improvement endeavor, seriously consider adding outdoor cabinets to the space. You may also want to consider dividing the deck into different spaces based on use. For example, you may want to design your deck so that it has a section dedicated to dining and the preparation of food. You may want another section that becomes something akin to a sitting area in the interior of your home. Refurbish the Bathrooms Bathrooms are key rooms for a person considering the purchase of your home if you put it on the market for sale. Indeed, if you are like most homeowners, your bathrooms undoubtedly are very important to you as well. You can make some modestly priced improvements to your bathrooms that can provide you with a good return on that investment. These can include replacement of faucets and other hardware in your bathrooms, fresh coats or paint or new wall covering, and flooring replacement, among other relatively affordable renovations of changes. Add a Bathroom As a general rule, adding a room to your residence does not significantly improve the market value of your home. Specifically, the costs associated with adding a new room to your residence does not pay for itself. Thus, if you make the decision to add a room to your home, you should have a valid reason for doing so beyond the idea that will increase the market value of your home by taking this course of action. There is one exception to this general reality. If your home has only one bathroom, converting an existing space in your residence into a second bathroom is an addition that is likely to increase the overall market value of your home. The stark reality is that there are few people house hunting at any point in time that would be pleased with a home that has only one bathroom. Update the Kitchen Along with bathrooms, the kitchen in a house is one of the most important spaces in that residence. Thus, when it comes to improving the overall market value of your home, you do want to take a look at the kitchen. Undertaking some basic, reasonably priced kitchen improvements of changes is the course to take. You most definitely do not want to overspend when it comes to your kitchen. In other words, you do not want to remodel your kitchen and turn it into something that far exceeds other components of your residence. If you overspend on a kitchen remodel, you will never recoup the money spent via an increase in the market value of the residence itself. Basic upgrades like fresh wall covering, new flooring, new standard appliances, and new moderately priced countertops are all examples of steps you can take to enhance you kitchen in a way that will increase the market value of your residence. In the grand scheme of things, these five strategies provide you with solid guidance on responsible, reasonable, and affordable ways you can increase the value of your home. In some cases, you can increase value even further if you are able to undertake some of these recommended improvements on your own.