Practical Ways To Raise Your Home's Value

By Jane Lucas

Many people see their home as a place they'll possibly spend the rest of their lives enjoying, a comforting space where they can raise their children, and maybe even retire. For others, it can be all of this and more. It could, for instance, be a way to accumulate wealth.

Home equity has often been a way to build one's wealth. That doesn’t mean that it’s easy. You’ll need to raise your home’s value after buying it, and then hopefully sell it at a higher price.

Depending on circumstances, the value of your house could rise on its own. Prices are driven by an area becoming more desirable, among other factors. These will often be out of your control, and they can take a significant amount of time to affect property value.

If you plan on living in your current house for years or decades, then waiting for the increase might be acceptable. However, you might also want to speed up the process, or at least give it a little boost. If that’s the case, you might be asking what exactly can you do to improve your property’s value? Thankfully, there are a few things we can suggest to help.

While these tips might take time and effort, they’ll have a large impact on your home’s eventual selling price.

How To Raise Your Home’s Value

Make It Beautiful

How your home looks will have a significant impact on its value. It's simple: if potential buyers don’t like how it looks, then they’ll be less likely to buy. This perception starts with the exterior, which should be one of the first things you focus on. If you’re thinking of selling soon, then that’s especially true.

There are several ways that you can improve the outside of your home, such as adding a layer of paint. Replacement doors in the front and back could also be worth the investment. Once you have the outside looked after, you can consider the interiors.

You might be quick to assume that most of the ways to raise your home’s value would involve large renovations. While these will have a significant impact, they’re not the only things that you can do. Re-polishing or re-carpeting the floors could be an impactful change that will be more affordable than you’d think.

Strategically placing a few key décor items around the home can also help enhance the appeal, which doesn't have to cost too much. If you understand ways that make a room more attractive to you, then these could add to your home’s value for other as well. Look through magazines for ideas, and don't be hesitant to talk with friends whose home interiors you admire for additional help.

Your roof is another vital component for adding value, although it’s an area that many people try to forget. You may need to address potential leaks anyway, so it’s worth cleaning and improving it while you’re there. Though this can sometimes be costly, it will reap dividends on your home’s overall value.

Add More Space

Many people like to buy larger homes. As a result, larger houses tend to sell for higher prices. This simple reality means that maximizing the size of your home - making it as big as possible - could add a significant amount of money to your eventual selling price.

What this doesn’t necessarily mean though, is that you’ll have to add extensions to your house. While increasing the square footage of certain rooms will have an impact on your property value, such as your kitchen, bedrooms, and living room, it doesn't mean adding on is the only option.

If there are walls that you can knock down to make certain rooms bigger, then consider that! And if it’s just not possible to add this kind of space, then get creative with how large your room appears. Placing mirrors in strategic locations can definitely be helpful, and expand the feeling of a room.

Taking down a wall, or adding mirrors, will help make rooms bigger and airier, which might be enough to have an impact on your homes’ price.

Make It More Energy-Efficient

There are multiple costs associated with buying and owning a home; the asking price is just the first and largest one a buyer will tackle. Over time, though, other small costs start to add up. One of the more notable is the amount of energy and utility bills a buyer will have to pay once they settle in. If these are typically quite high, then it could be harder to sell your house.

Making your home more energy-efficient could be the easiest way of doing increasing your home's appeal. Newer appliances tend to be much more energy-efficient than their older counterparts. Upgrading to something new could overcome the majority of these issues.

You shouldn’t stop there, however. Instead, also look at the heating, electrical, and plumbing systems. The more energy-efficient these systems are, the more your home will likely sell for. There’s also the benefit of your bills being cheaper while you’re still living in it.

Add New Systems & Appliances

Potential buyers will look at the long-term costs associated with purchasing your home. That extends beyond its energy efficiency. Buyers will want to make sure that the appliances are relatively new and perform to specific standards.

Alongside the appliances themselves, they’ll also look at the electrical and plumbing systems, among others. If these are likely to act up in the years after your home is sold, then it will negatively affect its value.

Upgrading these to something new will have a significant impact on your home’s value. These improvements don’t need to be large. Fixing leaks and addressing other obvious issues could be enough to increase your property’s value in a buyer's mind, and thus the selling price.

While many of these could seem minor to you, they’re aspects that potential buyers will notice. They’ll then use these to try to negotiate down the asking price.

It goes without saying then that the opposite is also true: if there aren’t any issues for them to find, then you can set your asking price higher without any fear of potential problems.

How To Pay For Ways That Raise Your Home’s Value

It’s one thing to know how to raise your home’s value. It’s another to afford it. Depending on what you want to do, the costs can be relatively steep. You can certainly address much of this expense by working hard, picking up extra shifts, and saving a little bit as you go.

However, there could be a limit to what you can do on your own, and it's likely there will still be needed supplies and materials beyond your budget. The good news is there are multiple options that you can consider, including loans to help you out. It should be noted that paying these back can be expensive, so it isn’t recommended that you take out too large of a loan, but they can be helpful when needed.

If you take a loan, though, and you’re unable to pay it back, you could end up needing to sell the house or other possessions to pay it back. You’ll obviously want to avoid that. So consider your options wisely, and obviously, if you can save and pay in case, that's the best.

And too, if you plan on living in your current home for several years, then there isn’t quite the rush to get things done. You can save and pay for the upgrades as you can afford them. While this means waiting longer until the improvements are made, it helps you avoid the stress of paying back any loans.

Wrapping Up

Finding out the best ways to raise your home’s value can be a stressful and difficult experience. Not only do you have to look for ideas, but you’ll have to consider material costs and potentially hiring contractors. Taking a step back to take a breather will help you determine the right path for you.

There can be various ways you can work on your property, so determining which one is right for you is a personal decision. If you’re primarily looking to raise your home’s value so that you can sell it, weigh out how much it will actually affect the price. Will it be worth the cost and effort?

If so, then definitely make it something you consider.