Property
Maintenance Will Increase Your Home Value
The best way to increase home value is to treat it like
an investment and maintain the property as often as possible
so that it does not become a huge expense right at the
moment you plan to sell or get an appraisal. Simple inexpensive
maintenance items include painting; carpet cleaning; re-caulking;
replacing broken items; power washing; etc. The best rule
to apply is if it is broken, fix it right away, so that
you are protecting your investment. Every dollar that
is spent in your home during your ownership must be taken
into consideration of home value.
Your
Home Value Can Be Increased By Adding Size
Increased home value can be achieved by adding size (square
footage), adding bedrooms and adding bathrooms are all
strong candidates for increasing home value. Licensed
appraisers are going to find out your square footage,
number of bedrooms and number of bathrooms and compare
it to similar houses on your street, in your neighborhood
or your zip code. So more square feet above and below
grade typically wins the value battle depending on overall
condition as well. A great way to "Decrease Your
Home Value" is to think that you are a contractor
(when actually you are not) and you attempt to finish
a room or build a deck that when complete 6 months later
appears like it was not done professionally. Best advice
is if you cannot do it then do not do it. Feel free to
search for a professional to make it look professional
and remember the time you would take on the project needs
to be accounted for overall value in your house. Time
is money.
Getting
A Return On Your Home Value
When you are going to do a project to your real estate
you must evaluate when you plan to sell the home versus
the cost of the project. For example if you are going
to finish your basement, privacy fence or add a sunroom
off the kitchen area and the cost of these projects is
$25,000.00-$50,000.00 and you are not ever planning to
sell your home for a while then you will more than likely
see a return on the investment of doing the project. If
you spend that kind of money and are moving within 2 years
you run the risk of not getting a return on your investment
other than personal enjoyment.
Home
Value Comes From Personal Enjoyment
When it comes to doing things to your home for increased
home value you need to make sure you understand one simple
concept. When you put in a pool or finish a basement you
are doing it for the benefit of your family and personal
enjoyment. If it shows more money for you when you sell
your home then it is a bonus. However, the guaranteed
value is out of the enjoyment you received in addition
to the other items.
