Home Improvements that Have the Largest and Smallest Impact On Your Home’s Value

A Useful Home Office

COVID-19 encouraged many employers to let their employees work from home, while countless entrepreneurs have always maintained home offices. Research indicates that creating a dedicated home office space can boost your home's resale value. However, resist the urge to convert your garage into that home office. Buyers expect a home to include a usable garage, even if they don't end up parking their cars inside it. For this reason, garage conversions hurt resale value instead of helping it.

Eye-Catching Paint and Lighting

New flooring can breathe new life into your home's interior. It can also yield a solid return on your remodeling investment, but only if you select the right flooring material. Wood flooring commands the highest ROI as does luxury vinyl plank flooring. 

Think twice before selecting the most luxurious marble tile with the notion that it will command a higher asking price. Many buyers prefer harder-wearing materials that require less care and offer easier replacement or repairs. As for carpeting, it may disappoint buyers who expect to see solid flooring in the house's entryway or other public living areas.

Kitchens & Bathrooms

These are truly the money makers! Who doesn’t want a beautifully updated kitchen and luxurious bathrooms? On top of that, what percentage of people want to buy a new home only to have to immediately upgrade these high ticket items. 

However, unless your kitchen is dilapidated or non-functional, there is no need to do a complete remodel! There are several cost effective ways to improve your kitchen or bathrooms. 

For the kitchen, think about adding quartz countertops on top of newly painted cabinets and simply changing out the cabinet hardware. Making sure your appliances are matching or even updated also helps.

In the bathrooms, replacing vanities and sinks is one of the best bangs for your buck. Also, update your lighting and replace that outdated mirror.   

Exterior Enhancements

As you may know from previous experience, a roof replacement represents a serious investment. However, it can also pay big dividends if you want to sell your home. The appeal of a new roof that shouldn't need replacing for decades can also help you sell your home more quickly to a more enthusiastic pool of buyers.

That attractive new roof offers only one way of increasing your home's curb appeal and resale value. Almost anything you do to improve the exterior's beauty can yield dramatic results. One thing you should highly recommend considering is replacing that garage door. An updated, stylistic garage door can do additional wonders for your curb appeal. 

Luscious Landscaping

Curb appeal requires more than just fresh-looking exteriors and a beautiful roof. It also includes the visual impact of your lawn and garden on prospective buyers. A beautifully-landscaped property communicates that the owner has tended the home with loving care, implying a durable, good-looking property inside and out. 

To gain even more significant benefits from your landscaping efforts, equip your exterior walkway, porch, and driveway with exterior lighting. Buyers will enjoy the idea of showing off their luxurious lawn, garden, and other exterior features at any time of day or night.

Of course, that gorgeous lawn will stay gorgeous only if you take proper care of it throughout the home selling process. Try to mow the lawn and trim the hedges regularly (or schedule regular visits from a professional landscaping team) to preserve your property's good looks. Keep the front and back lawns free of toys, trash, and other items that might undercut your efforts.

Eradicate Those Pesky Pests

One of the things about the Bay Area, this used to be a land of orchards! As much as those termites, rodents and other critters can be a nuisance to homeowners, remember, they were here first. 

Acquire a pest inspection before putting your home up for sale and attend to those pesky ones. A pest specialist can help you remove and proof your home against those visitors that are sure to turn potential home buyers away.