Whether you want to sell or improve, renovating can add value of your home. Renovation maybe costly and at some times inconvenient, but below are 5 tactical renovating strategies you can maximize the value of your home.
1. Painting
A fresh coat of paint can help alter the whole house, depending on the color it can bring out a spacious feel to a certain room, it can highlight features of the room, etc… If you have the confidence and the know-how even you can do it yourself. If you haven’t picked the right color you can have a color consultant do it for you. Not only will painting your house bring a new feel to it but it is also the highest returning ‘add value’ technique.
Suite Home Renos has followed one rule when it comes to painting…do not use cheap paint. Cheap paint needs a good three coats of paint to look good because it’s runny like water. If you’re painting yourself and you use cheap paint you spend more time, if you’re hiring someone you spend more money, but ultimately you’re spending more than the higher quality paint costs. We suggest Cloverdale or Benjamin Moore paint as they’re both good quality and the staff are knowledgeable.
Also if you don’t know what colours are trendy go see some show homes if you can. If you don’t want to choose paint colours yourself, please hire a professional not just the kid working the paint desk at a DIY store. The professional keeps up with all the information such as what might be used for the style of place you’re renovating. You may also find some situations where, and I can’t believe I would say this, but where wallpaper might be the thing to use.
2. Kitchen Remodel
The kitchen is the room that sells the home. Also it’s the most important room in the home. Renovating the kitchen is a great strategy, it provides one of the highest returns compared with other room home improvements. Also a remodeled and attractive kitchen will attract more prospective buyers than an old outdated one.
Before I got into the renovation business, my wife and I were looking at homes in our area, and we kept running into these homes which were ‘renovated’, but the kitchens were still original. What a let down as I now need to replace that kitchen to match the rest of the house. I can imagine moving in and immediately gutting the kitchen as I wasn’t interested in a junky kitchen. So in my head I’m thinking the previous owners left me with the biggest expense and one I would need to incur along with the down payment. No thanks!
3. Bathroom Upgrade
The other most frequently used room in the house is the bathroom, like the kitchen it also suffers from wear and tear. Bathrooms can be expensive as they do require a decent amount of attention to detail. From the water proofing in a shower area to the expensive tile work. Also they are getting more expensive as we like to add special features like heated floors or shower control systems (if you want to get away from basic renovations).
Suite Home Renos has seen a lot of bathroom renovations and can help with all aspects of them. We’ve done glass wall shower enclosures, full replacements of everything, to gut and re-dos. A typical bathroom starts at $8,000 and goes up quickly.
4. Garden and Outdoor Area
If you are planning to renovate your house to sell, the garden and outdoor area should be well considered. Potential buyers look at the house as a whole and the outside area will play a key role in their decision. The outdoors area will make the first impression of the house, renovations inside the house will be futile if you can’t get purchasers through the door and and see the inside of your home. If you just want to improve your home why not add beauty by remodeling the outside and garden area.
As Google Maps and Street View can show a home before you even get potential buyers to the door, you want to make sure to make a good first impression. Its easy to improve the outside of a home with relatively low cost. A good weekend and a trip to a garden store will set you up for the best return on your investment.
5. Flooring
You can change the whole atmosphere of the whole room by just changing the flooring. If your budget limits you from renovating the flooring of the whole house, choose just one room for the meantime. In the living room certain styles can make it look more spacious. If you have floorboards under your carpet, you can consider refinishing them.
Renovating on a budget must be planned and strategized accordingly so that you won’t go overboard and can’t recoup from the expenses. I hope the strategy above will give you an idea on where you want to start tactically your renovations. Remember bringing back life and reviving your old home through renovating will always add value to your house.
