Tips: How to Increase Your Property’s Value Before Selling

When it comes to putting up your property for sale, it is important to know that the property’s value is directly proportional to the amount of money it will command in the market.

A dilapidated house with dirty and shrunken features will not command the same market price as a beautifully house with a nicely mowed lawn.

According to real-estate experts, small interior updates as well as an exterior overhaul can increase the odds of your property fetching a good selling price.

The goal of any real estate investment effort is to increase your property’s value and ultimately make it worth more than it was bought.

There are low-cost ways to add value and there are more expensive and in-depth renovations that can be done.

Here are 15 tips, both low and high cost, for increasing your property’s value.

Low-Cost Tips to Increase a Property’s Value

There are simple things any property owner can do which can boost the appeal of a property.

While these simple tips may not add tens of thousands of naira to your property’s value, without doing them, you may not be able to realize the full potential value of your property.

These fixes can be done without having to hire any outside help. Although they are low cost, they can make a huge difference in the way your property looks.

Clean: Making sure your property is clean will have an immediate return on the property’s value. This includes both the outside and the inside. Garbage, dirt, and strange odors are not attractive features.

Paint: You will be amazed by the difference a fresh coat of paint can make. It can revive and brighten a tired space. Neutral colors are universally appealing.

Add Curb Appeal: A few strategically placed plants, a new doormat, outdoor lights or shutters can make your property more inviting.

Change Fixtures: Changing out a doorknob, light switch cover, cabinet handle or even a light fixture is an easy way to breathe new life into a space.

Stage the Property: De-cluttering a space and giving each room a function can add value because many buyers lack imagination. Proper placement of furniture, the size of furniture, and amount of furniture is also key.

Moderate/High-Cost Tips to Increase Property’s Value

There are updates you can make to a property that can have an average to high cost depending on the extent of the renovation done and the materials chosen.

These types of updates have the potential to add significantly to a property’s value.

Change/Add Windows or Doors: This is a valuable addition. Not only does it improve the aesthetics of the home, it also can reduce embarrassment especially if the door or window had been faulty.

Change Flooring: Updating carpet or adding hardwood or tile adds to a property’s value.

Reduce Noise: People want to feel like their home is an oasis. There are many ways to reduce noise such as adding insulation, installing double pane windows and doors, installing carpets and rugs to minimize footsteps and placing plants to further absorb noise.

Update a Kitchen or Bath: This includes changing a portion of the room, but not an entire gut renovation. It could be changing the flooring or changing countertops. In the bathroom, you could switch out a toilet, sink or bathtub.

Gut Renovate a Kitchen or Bath: This would be a complete overhaul of the room. It can involve adding new cabinets, new countertops, new flooring, new lighting fixtures, new appliances, new sinks, new faucets, new cabinet handles, new tub, new shower, new toilet or even changing the layout of the room.

Create a More Functional Layout/Modernize Floor Plan: For example, it could be taking down a wall between a kitchen and living room. It could be rearranging a kitchen to create more usable space. It could be adding a bathroom to the master bedroom to create a suite. It could also be swapping the location of two rooms, such as an office and a dining room to create a better flow in the home.

Gut Renovate a Property: Completely redoing a property by ripping it down to its studs and building it back up with a more modern design and materials can increase the property’s value, as long as you are able to sell the property for more than you owe on the property along with renovation and holding costs.

Final words

While you want to improve your property and increase the value, you also want to be cautious so that you do not over-improve your property. You don’t want to spend an amount of money on a renovation where you will not see a return on your investment.

Before you renovate, do some research on your area to find out how much the property will be worth after the renovations.

Once you properly gauge this new value, you can deduct the price you paid for the home and what you are left with is the maximum price you should spend for the renovation and any soft costs such as financing charges, closing costs, and holding costs if the property will sit vacant while the renovations occur.