11 Ways To Increase The Value Of Your Home

According to a survey conducted in the USA, 70% of Americans believe that their house is their biggest asset and that they should keep making changes to keep it updated from time to time. If everyone else also goes by the same theory, no one would have to incur a huge home renovation expense all of a sudden. All one has to do is to have regular checks around the house, ideally by a professional maintenance team to look out for any areas that require some extra attention. This will not only help with equity and capital appreciation but will also make your house looking the best amongst the rest of its neighbours on the street. Moreover, your property will also get an edge over other houses when it’s time to put it up on the market.  Check out some tips given below to know how to improve the value of your home by making some slight to significant changes to it.

Take advice from a professional interior designer

If you are thinking of making some significant changes to your house, come up with a proper plan and as mentioned earlier, hire professional help in the form of an interior designer and seek their expert opinion on how to improve or make changes to the existing condition of your house. Make sure to pinpoint all details to them so they can guide you accordingly. An allocated budget helps the designer come up with the best suitable plan for your house. Trust us, this will be money well-spent if done in the correct manner with the right person.

Compare the market value of your house to others in the area

Pay attention to the market value of your house as well as the homes that are in your neighbourhood/community. A real estate agent who specializes in your area should be able to help you create a proper real estate market analysis report based on the current going value of homes in that area. You can also seek help from Bayut’s annual or quarterly market report on trending areas and going rents/sales prices of homes in a neighbourhood. These reports can be of great help especially if you’re considering to become a direct seller or landlord and would like to price your home right. You will also need to make sure you don’t overspend in renovations and are able to recover your money when you’re ready to put your house up on the market whether for sale or for rent.

Renovate one room at a time

Direct your focus towards one room at a time. Don’t distract yourself by focusing on the interior of one room while the exterior of another. It will only waste your time and do nothing productive. Invest your energy in renovating one room and updating its interior.

Paint your home

Painting is one of the most cost-effective techniques that can be used to increase the value of your home. In fact, if done in a unique and bold manner, it can give your home a complete makeover as well. One gallon of paint is available at an average price of AED 55 to AED 159. You will also have to invest in buying brushes, drip cloths, painter’s tape, and rollers. Other items worth looking into may include some stencils or wall borders.

Cut Your Energy Cost

You can reduce energy costs in so many ways. The best way would be to contact the local utility company or DEWA if you’re in Dubai. These companies can offer free energy audits to your house and help you enhance the energy efficiency of your home. You can also try to cut your energy expenditure on your own by installing energy-saving fixtures like double-paned windows and solar panels, if your budget allows, or with smaller expenses like changing all lighting to LED and making sure windows and doors are sealed properly.

Add some shrubs and colorful plants to your house

Keep lots of plants in your house. They not only keep the house cool, reducing carbon dioxide levels or the number of certain pollutants, such as nitrogen dioxide and benzene, but also add to the beauty of your home.

Try to pick out the drought-tolerant plants that can withstand less water and maintenance, especially if you are not a plant-person at heart. They are available at any plant nursery in Dubai. These types of plants don’t require a lot of maintenance and also beautify the space.

Work on the Air Quality of your home

You can enhance the air quality of your home by improving its indoor and outdoor condition. For example, carpets wear out and are known to become dusty every few months, by replacing them with wood/laminate floors or tiles, you will not only add years to your flooring but also provide an instant contemporary look to your home. Change the AC filters, get an air purifier, keep doormats and get new microfiber mops. Don’t forget to repair leaky plumbing to get rid of moisture-friendly molds. This will keep your home free from allergens and contaminants and will add to its overall appearance as well as improving quality.

Keep your house clean

Cluttered rooms, patchy lawns with outsized bushes and hedges, damaged chimneys, and old electrical wiring make your home stand out – in a bad way.

MANICURE YOUR LAWN

Clean up your lawn by spending a few dirhams. Shape up the hedges and manicure the lawn. Once you’re done, scatter grass clippings around the lawn area to have the ground benefit from their nutrients. Most home-owners and tenants prefer using services of professional lawn/yard service and maintenance companies. This helps in keeping your home well cared for all the time without the hassle of doing it yourself and have your weekends better spent especially in the hot UAE summers, or you can just do it yourself and shed those extra pounds you’ve been meaning to get rid of for a long time!

FIND A GOOD SUBSTITUTE FOR OLD WIRING

If you feel a tingling sensation upon touching an appliance or observe breakers often getting fuse or trip, hire an electrician and replace the old wiring with a new one. A wiring upgrade maybe a little expensive but it’s worth the money since it ensures the safety of your family members and adds value to your home.

Increase the Living Space of Your House

Increase the square footage of your house as it can create a major impact on its value. When buyers have to compare homes that are similar in infrastructure and style, they opt for the one that has a larger space. But obviously that is not an easy thing to accomplish and if you cannot extend your house by adding more rooms to it, you can visually increase its square footage instead. Try adding shutters or vertical blinds to your home. This will not only let light percolate through the home but will also make it appear spacious and larger. You can also find an underused space and add a shelving unit to it to make your clutter doesn’t look like clutter.

If you want to know more about creating the illusion of a larger space, check out the ways to increase the size of your room.

Add smart gadgets to increase the value of your home

If you want to add curb appeal to your home, you can add some smart devices there, such as energy monitoring devices, thermostats, and smart light bulbs. An energy monitoring device, if placed inside a circuit-breaker panel, can give you an energy consumption data for your entire house. Similarly, a smart thermostat can automatically control the heating and cooling of the home. You can store the thermostat in a convenient location inside your home. If installed properly, a compact, WiFi-enabled wireless system can fill your home with music, help you control the lighting, heating or cooling from your phone. Everything gets better with music whether it’s cooking or having dinner, or during a party. Always remember, a smart home captivates the attention of tech-friendly buyers.

Remodel Your Kitchen and Bathroom

Making changes to bathrooms and kitchens increases the resale value of a house the most. For kitchens, getting new pulls and handles, painting your cabinets with citrus-like colours – green, yellow and orange and installing a pendant light can make a significant impact without costing a lot. However, if you want to make some major changes to the kitchen, replacing old appliances with new ones, installing vinyl or wood flooring, and adding new cabinets and marble countertops can literally work wonders. As far as the bathroom is concerned, you can install a wall storage shelf, frame a mirror and update the vanity. If your budget allows you, you can also upgrade your hand basin, add a beautiful wallpaper or paint an accent wall and change floor tiles. According to a residential appraiser, minor kitchen fixes deliver an 81 % return on investment while major fixes deliver 53 % ROI. The same is true for the bathroom fixes. A few updates in the bathroom can generate 70% return on investment while major installations can give you 56%.

Keeping up with regular maintenance and fixes is something that will help increase the value of your home. One should never take these lightly and should pay special attention to them. These will not only add to the look and comfort of your home for you to live in but also add value to your property when you’re ready to put it up on the market.

If you’re not up for the job or need help, you can always opt to hire a handyman who will be able to take care of all of these things with an hourly or daily wage, depending on tasks at hand.

Best of luck!