Which Home Improvements Add Value to Your Home

Home improvements are the best way to increase the value of your house. You can add thousands to your home’s value with some additions and remodelling. Even if you don’t have the funds to do a large renovation, just a few small changes can add to your home’s resale price. Not everything will add value, though. There are a few things to keep in mind when trying to improve your home to attract potential buyers.
Consider Buyers, Not Yourself

While you might be wishing for a big pool or a balcony, these things aren’t necessarily attractive to buyers. Some people find them more trouble than they’re worth. Think about the improvements that will guarantee attracting buyers. Enlarging or updating your kitchen and bathrooms, adding storage space, or adding a bedroom will add a great deal of resale value.

Cosmetic Changes

Repaint or change your wallpaper to a neutral color. Neutral colors are more attractive to prospective buyers than brightly painted areas or wild wallpaper patterns, allowing buyers to imagine their own personal decorating tastes in the house. Freshen the paint on your ceiling molding, baseboards, and chair rails. If your carpet is more than five years old or has stains that won’t come out with a good shampooing, recarpet. Also think about installing hardwood floors – they tend to be more attractive to buyers than carpeting.

Remodelling and Addition

Although adding on and remodelling are expensive, it can be worth it to up your resale value. Be careful not to go too far, though. Make sure to keep the styles of your remodeling or additions with the rest of your house.

Having a single bathroom in a multi-bedroom house can actually bring the value down. Adding bathrooms is a great, cost-efficient way to add a lot of value to your home. If you already have plenty of bathrooms, replacing damaged tiles or retiling completely and updating fixtures and lighting will enhance the rooms without costing you a lot.

Windows and Doors

Replacing old, stained, or non-energy efficient doors and windows is a great way to give the outside of your home a bit of a facelift, taking care of some appearance problems as well as any heating and cooling issues that may exist. Make sure to install common styles, though. While unique shapes can be beautiful, not everyone is looking for custom work.

Home Offices

With more and more people bringing work home with them or working from home in the first place, home offices are growing in popularity. If you decide to create a home office, be sure to have plenty of room. A cramped space is more likely to be seen as a storage area than a nice home office. Install plenty of lighting and electrical outlets – consider the number of electronics that need to be plugged in around an office desk.

Eco-Friendly Changes

Solar panels, a tankless water heater, and high-efficiency heating and cooling systems will be a plus for anyone looking for a home that is kind to the environment. These improvements can be very expensive, though, and not everyone will want them.

Renovation Tax Credits

The Ontario Home Renovation Tax Rebate Program offers tax credits for a large number of home improvements, including but not limited to new flooring, some eco-friendly changes, and bathroom and kitchen renovations.