10 Ways to Boost House Value

1. Create Space

Knock out a non-structural wall, or even remove that kitchen island. Anything that opens the space and creates a sense of flow in the house is generating a response from buyers who can afford to be choosy. For the price of a few hundred dollars, you'll transform the feel of the house. Right now buyers want a wide open floor plan, the living room right off the kitchen. They are into big spaces.

A kitchen island can also be an asset, creating needed storage space. But if the kitchen has enough cabinets, it could pay to haul the island away. Homeowners might want to consider a moveable island. You can adjust them to you needs.

Get It Done
• Knock Out Walls and Remove a Doorway
• Replace a Wall with a Breakfast Bar
• Tear Down a Pass-Through Wall

2. Prune, Limb, and Landscape

Tangled trees and unkempt bushes can obscure views, darken interiors, promote mold, and block a good look at the house.

People forget about their trees more than almost anything. Yet, landscaping is one of the top three investments that bring the biggest return. According to a recent survey of 2,000 real estate brokers, an investment of around $400 or $500 dollars in landscaping, can bring a return of four times that. It could really make a significant difference in the price. Nobody likes to spend money, but landscaping might even be the most important thing, even if owners have kept up the house.

Overgrown landscaping is a problem at all price points. People say, ‘Where's the house?" If buyers can't see what they are getting, they just move right on. And if neglected, mother nature may go wild at considerable cost. A fallen limb from a poorly cared tree could caused you a lot of money in damage.

Get It Done
• Work with a Tree Removal Pro
• Prune Shrubs and Small Trees
• Clean Up Hedges

3. Let in the Light

The number one item you must consider when boosting your home value is lighting—everything from a dimmer switch to the popular skylights—which noticeably enhances a home's appeal. Dimmers allow you to create a mood.

Less expensive than framing in a skylight, sun tubes—also known as light pipes, sunscoops, and tubular skylights—use reflective material to funnel natural light from a globe-capped hole cut in a rooftop down through a ceiling fixture and into a room. Tubular skylights, sunlight is nice, and moonlight is even nicer.

A few other ways to light things up: Fix broken panes, make sure windows open, and consider lights that use motion detectors to turn themselves off. Remember high wattage bulbs make small spaces feel larger, and soft lighting brings warmth to empty spaces.

Get It Done
• Install Sun Tubes
• Open a Painted-Shut Window
• Solve Your Compact Flourescent Lighting Problems

4. Don't Put Off Care and Maintenance

Before thinking about a fancy upgrade to the kitchen, address the basics. Insulate the attic, repair plumbing leaks, replace rusty rain gutters, inspect the furnace and the septic system, replace or repair leaky windows, install storm doors, weed the flower beds.

These kinds of fixes go a long way toward value. Starting with a couple hundred dollars on a few things could increase the value of your house by a few thousand dollars. People are surprised by that. It's exciting. People think they have to put in a lot of money to see a big difference and they really don't.

Investing in maintenance and repairs is not only moneywise; could also be crucial to a sale. Brokers and agents from across the country say the houses that get attention in this buyers market are in tip-top shape. What's important in this market, now more than ever, because there is so much inventory, the houses that sell are in pristine condition and are priced to the market.

Get It Done
• Insulate an Attic
• Repair Corroded Pipes
• Inspect and Maintain a Furnace

5. Go Green

If maintenance and repairs are in hand, put the greenbacks into green efficiency. If your heating or air conditioning systems are old, new ones are so much better, with savings of up to 30 to 40%. Another example: for $7,000 for the unit and installation, with $2,100 back in green tax credits, a solar-powered water heater could save you as much as 80% on your water-heating bills.

Research published by The Appraisal Journal estimates that energy savings add twenty times the annual savings to the value of your property. Energy savers make your house more desirable. Do the update green, because everyone is now, for the first time in five years, asking about the utilities.

Get It Done
• Install a Solar Hot Water Heater
• Shrink Your Energy Bills by installing energy efficient products around your house and insulating your walls and windows.

6. Home Begins at the Front Door

Don't underestimate the power of a front door. People make up their minds in the first seven seconds of entering a house.

Surveyed brokers like a working door bell, and don't forget an overhang, such as an awning or portico, above the front door. If you don't have a way out of the rain, or shelter from the sun while you are fumbling for your keys, you are really missing out.

If you're up for more exterior upgrades, move to the back or sides of the house. People get back dollar for dollar for the decks they put in. Even in the snow-laden housing market, the right deck on the right house can be an eye-catcher. I had a home come onto the market with a small yard. It was about 20 by 30. The owner had encompassed almost the whole area with a deck. The buyers really liked that. It dressed it up and enhanced the area, making it an extension of the living space. If the deck is done with the right material so that it will stay nice-looking and in good shape, it'll hold value.

Get It Done
• Upgrade Your Front Entry
• Consider a Portico
• Build a Small Deck

7. What's Under Your Feet?

Don't undervalue the materials you're standing on. Ninety-four percent of real estate pros recommend spending some money on floors. But it doesn't have to be a lot of money. For an estimated average investment of $1000, brokers report that the return in value comes in at up to $3,000.

And you can spend even less than that. A few well-placed nails can eliminate distracting squeaks. Other small projects with a big impact include repairing broken tile, patching damaged floor boards, and tossing out the wall-to-wall carpeting.

In some cases, however, a new floor is in order. A broker in New Jersey says one would-be seller's house might've sold were it not for a kitchen floor that drew questions from buyers. The number one problem was the fact that her floor was really personal: blue and green vinyl. It clashed with the other upgrades in the kitchen. Everyone kept saying, ‘That kitchen!'.

If you want a wood floor that holds value, we suggest engineered hardwoods. If you like cork, floating cork wears better than cork tile which is glued down and can peel.

Get It Done
• Fix a Squeaky Floor
• Repair a Broken Floor Tile
• Install a Cork Floor

8. Easy Bath Upgrades

Brokers, one and all, say spiffing up the kitchen and bath is a sure bet for adding value to your home. Surveyed brokers say these kinds of improvements can get expensive. It may not be economical to do a major renovation if you are trying to spend as little as possible before putting a house up for sale. But some upgrades are cheap, easy, and fast…especially in the bathroom.

Replace frosted glass for clear glass, clean the grout, remove rust stains, apply fresh caulk, update doorknobs and cabinet pulls, replace faucets, and install a low-flush toilet. Even buying a new toilet seat can make a difference.

Get It Done
• Caulk Around the Tub
• Replace a Bathroom Faucet
• Install a Low-Flow Toilet

9. Neutral Wall Colors

If you're getting ready to put a house on this circumspect market, don't allow walls with chipped paint to go unmaintained. If you need to do more than a touch up, choose neutral colors.

Get out of your personal taste. Buyers want to be able to project their own ideas onto a space, and sellers can help with toned-down wall color.

Get It Done
• Paint a Room
• Paint Doors and Windows
• Paint base moldings, window sills and crown moldings (if any).

10. Remove the Question Marks from Your House

We call it the "What's that?" factor, and whatever it is (1950s wallpaper, a broken front step or cracked threshold, green-and-blue vinyl flooring), fix it or remove it. We recommend getting the impartial advice of a friend who can tell you what's drawing attention and raising questions for the wrong reasons. The more questions, the more people are likely to say, ‘We don't want that house.' Sometimes it's the quick fix that someone put in thinking, ‘I can live with it.' Those fixes bite you back later when it's time to sell because prospective buyers are looking for more than jerrybuilt solutions.