When you purchase your home you don’t immediately think of what features increase home value. However, as time goes by you start to think of new things that should be revised to suit your new property needs. Sometimes, buying a new home may seem like a plausible idea if you are looking for more space or a change of aesthetic. However, a few inexpensive home improvements that you can do yourself can be just what you are looking for.
For instance, when you invest money to fix your water system to a more energy-efficient solution, you can significantly decrease the amount of money that you spend on your water bills. If you are looking for what features increase home value, you can keep on reading to find out what we think.
Enhance Its Aesthetics
If you are trying to spruce up your home without spending much, there are several things that you can do to start the process. If you have been thinking about what features increase home value, interior designers have come up with inexpensive ways to make your home look more lavish
The following are some tips you can try to use.
Declutter
Did you know that doctors suggest that a cluttered home can have a negative impact on your mental wellbeing? Clutter can affect your health and the appearance of your home in many ways. When you remove it, it helps to make your space brighter and more attractive. The best thing is that you can even make some money while you declutter your home
Wash Your Walls
You cannot think of what features increase home value without putting in the effort to improve how your walls look. Washing your walls is easy, and it’s free.
Paint
Once you have washed your walls, you can consider hiring an exterior painter to give it a more fresh look. You can choose neutral colors, this will help you to sell your home much easier in the future. Prospective homeowners prefer to purchase a home with neutral colors.
Additionally, painting your walls can help you to hide serious dents that can affect the appearance of your home when you try to sell it.
Increase Your Space
When you find out what features increase home value, you should think of different ways that you can use to improve your space. When you buy your home, you don’t usually think of how the space requirements could easily fluctuate over the years.
The reasons can be numerous, such as adding more family members or accumulating furniture over the years. Adding more space to your home is the best way to increase its value.
Below, we have compiled some tips on how you can increase your space without spending a fortune.
Add a Room
This is a cheap way to increase the square footage of your home in comparison to the standard home addition. It offers you great returns when you have to resell your home. However, even though it is not as expensive as a conventional home addition, it still requires some level of expertise to execute.
As a result, you may have to consider hiring an expert who may undertake the project on your behalf. Moreover, you may have to find out about the building codes or permits that you may have to get before you start building.
Basement Overhaul
Basement remodeling is one of the many ways that you can increase space in your home. If you have turned your basement into an unintentional storage facility, you may want to consider decluttering your basement. This is a cheap way to improve space and also increase the ventilation of your home.
Repurpose Your Attic
If you have a crowded home, you may want to undertake an attic conversion. However, you may want to ensure that the repurposing process is aligned with the laws and building codes of your state.
Be Creative With Your Garage
If you can do a reversible garage conversion to add more space, then you should use it as additional room space.
It is always important to assess whether improving your space will cost you more than your resale value or not. You can always opt for DIY projects and cheap alternatives to improve your space problems.
Think About Energy Efficiency
Making small changes that affect how you use energy in your home can help to make you better understand the impact that certain resources and materials have on the environment. When you consider energy efficiency, you need to choose low-cost options. Below, we have provided you with different ways that you can use to ensure that your home is energy efficient.
Start a Compost Pile
If you have organic waste that is accumulating in your home, you can start a compost pile in your backyard. You can use this to enrich your soil for any garden projects that you may undertake.
Think of Water Efficiency
This is the best way to improve your water efficiency. Most conventional showers use an extensive amount of water. You can also check for any leaks in your showerhead that may affect your water usage. Using a solar water heater can help to reduce the amount of money that you spend on your water heating on a daily basis, especially during winter.
Fix Your Windows
Going the extra mile with any window replacement can help with improving your energy efficiency which is an ideal way to help increase the value of your home. If you want to sell your home in the future, you will need to ensure that your windows. For instance, dual-pane can help to insulate your home and enhance your home value because it maximizes your energy efficiency.
You can also incorporate inert argon gas to reduce thermal transfer that can occur in your window panes. A storm window can help you save money without spending as much as you would replace all of your windows.
Limit Heater Use
While using a space heater can be the most convenient way to warm up your home during cold winter months, you may want to swap it for blankets to reduce costs.
Fix Leaking Pipes
If you invest in fixing your leaking pipes, you can conserve water and save money in the long run. If your home has corroded pipes, fixing them can help you boost your overall home value. Moreover, it will help to eliminate the type of waste chemicals that you consume in your home.
Landscape
There are many ways that landscaping can be used to improve the value of your home. Nowadays, landscape architects have found innovative and inexpensive ways to improve your home’s appearance and to help you reduce your carbon footprint.
For example, xeriscaping is a trendy way to landscape your home while ensuring that you conserve water. The following are some landscaping tips that you can use to help you improve the value of your home without spending a lot of money.
Maintain Your Lawn Edges
Keeping your lawn edges clean is one of the best ways to make your garden look better. When your lawn is neglected, it can negatively affect the value of your home. You don’t have to dent your budget when you maintain your lawn. You can easily create a maintenance schedule that includes mowing routine and irrigating your lawn.
Alternatively, you can consider installing synthetic lawn flooring that does not require you to constantly maintain it. This helps with saving water and other resources that are necessary to lessen your carbon footprint.
Plant Trees
Doctors recommend that a well-manicured garden can help to boost your mood and improve your overall health. Trees that are spaced out evenly can also benefit you by providing sufficient shade during the hot season. They can also be used as a safe pathway that can be a security measure to curb the likelihood of a house break-in.
Add Lighting Fixtures
Nowadays, figuring out what features increase home value no longer has to include budgeting thousands of dollars to achieve your goal. You can get adequate landscape lighting that is also cost-effective to boost your home value and your outdoor security features. LED and solar-powered light options are a great investment that can save you a lot of money in comparison to conventional and outdated lighting fixtures.
Enhance Your Heating System
Preventative measures for your heating system and doing routine maintenance can help you improve your home value. A few simple changes can ensure that your home remains energy efficient while saving you money on your monthly utility costs. Scheduling your air conditioning repair before any serious issues commence is a great way to invest in your home. A heating or cooling system that has leaky air ducts can cause a loss of air-conditioned air. You can fix this issue by sealing it with metal tape.
If your system is outdated, now would be the best time to upgrade it to a cost-effective and less energy-consuming heating system that is energy-star certified. A heating system is one of those features that can improve your home’s value significantly. So, if you are asking yourself what features increase home, you may want to put this on the top of your list.
Think About Automation
Technology continues to grow and develop to heights that have never been imagined before. Did you know that interior designers use a 3D architectural rendering platform to improve their designs so that they can create a realistic representation of what their final design can look like? There are many benefits that Technology can offer designers and homeowners alike.
There are inexpensive ways to improve your home to be a smart-home to help you sell it one day. The following are some of our recommendations that are cost-effective ways to upgrade your home into a tech-savvy home.
Install a Smart Thermostat
There are several ways to enhance your home’s thermostat without breaking the bank much. Some thermostats offer you intuitive manual control that includes smart features such as geofencing. It allows you to change your temperature settings automatically. This is important to improve your ventilation.
Upgrade Your Smoke Detectors
Smart features increase your home value, this is why upgrading your smoke detectors is useful. A smart smoke detector can send alerts on your smartphone if it detects any smoke or if the battery is running low.
While purchasing a new one can be a bit costly, you can still find ways to upgrade your existing one without spending much on it. For instance, you can add a smart battery to your conventional smoke detector to upgrade it to send you alerts when your smoke detectors go off or your battery starts running low.
Upgrade to Smart Lighting
Smart lighting has revolutionized the way that homeowners and those that are looking to buy visualize what features increase home value. As a homeowner, you are able to not only control your lighting with this innovative lighting system, but you can also conserve energy and enhance your security measures.
Smart lights offer you real value for your money and home. They decrease energy use significantly because they either use CFL or LED light bulbs.
Their lifespan is more than ten times longer than an incandescent light bulb which offers you increased security for longer periods. So, if you are looking for a smart way to save energy while you are making your mark with technological advances, then smart bulbs are the way to go.
The Bottom Line
Increasing the value of your home is an important part of being a homeowner even though it can affect the amount you pay for your property tax credit. Adding smart features that are energy-efficient, doing quick fixes, and replacing certain things can save you a lot of money in the long run.
You can have the home improvements that you have been hoping to accomplish without spending a ton of money. Moreover, adding features that promote green living such as a compost pile or a couple of trees can positively impact your health.