What are the best value-adding exterior improvements for a family home?
It’s often said that the curb appeal of your home is what makes the buyer’s first impression. If you want to increase the value of your home, start by taking a walk around your neighborhood and taking note of orderly, attractive exteriors and homes where gutters are falling off, fence paint peeling off, and piles of trash lying around the front yard. In other words, to increase the value and attract buyers with families, you need to grab their attention at first glance. Here are a few tips on how to achieve it.
Clean up the yard
Start from the simplest projects that don’t require much funding. In spite of costing next to nothing, a yard clean-up offers a 100% ROI, as the resulting visual impact is enormous. Too many homeowners fail to realize that rubbish and clutter around their houses create an immediate negative impression. Family buyers need to see a yard where their kids can run about and play safely, and old cars, piles of building materials, and gardening implements stashed in the corner convey the very opposite. Rake up the leaves and vegetation debris, steam-hose the moss and grime off the pavement, and make sure your patio furniture is clean.
Improve the landscaping
Maintaining your landscaping is another relatively affordable trick for increasing your home appraisal value. A beautifully-maintained yard with mowed lawns, weeded flower beds, mulched trees, and trimmed hedges and shrubs will present itself as an attractive option for families with young children, especially if the neighborhood lacks community parks or playgrounds. On top of it, having a well-landscaped garden will certainly make a potential buyer feel more comfortable when visiting your property, and perhaps even willing to make a concession on their offer.
Upgrade the gutters
Although they aren’t as prominent as some other features, any home inspector will confirm that gutters are critical to the structural integrity of the roof. Gutters that are cracked, worn out, or hanging are a red flag to experienced buyers, as apart from being an eyesore, they don’t do their function in channeling stormwater safely to the drain, instead of allowing it to damage the building structure. In addition to upgrading the look of your home, going with stainless steel or black gutters will improve their functionality.
Repair the roof
Homeowners are reluctant to make expensive repairs, and re-roofing a house is not an afternoon’s work. But why replace it when you can restore it? Restoration systems are used as a sustainable alternative to conventional roofing. Guys at A-1 All American Roofing, for instance, offer highly durable, water-based waterproofing compounds that are installed directly over existing roofing membranes, resulting in a seamless roofing system that is tough, flexible, and resistant to extreme weather. These systems also reduce the amount of waste that would result in a traditional roof teardown.
Replace door hardware
Small home renovations like updating exterior fixtures make a surprisingly big impact on the value of your home. You can upscale your home’s exterior style by simply changing a few affordable accents. The front door handle is one of these, as it’s the first part of the house the potential buyer comes in contact with. The handle should be solid and working properly without jerkiness. Make sure it’s attractive as well, as replacing a handle or lock is much cheaper than replacing the whole door.
Invest in a new garage door
Replacing your old dated garage door not only gives your house a distinctive, polished look but can also increase its appraisal value. Far from being just a detail, the garage door occupies a big visual space, sometimes a third of the home’s exterior. A new garage door should cost more than $1000 but will make an instant change. When considering a new garage door, apart from aesthetics you need to pay attention to safety features as well, especially if you have kids or target families as prime buyers.
Boosting the exterior of your home is a far less expensive way of increasing its value than many homeowners think. While many of these improvements can be finished as DIY projects, those which tackle the structural elements, such as roofing, should be done with the assistance of an expert contractor.
Author BIO
If one thing is true about Lillian Connors, her mind is utterly curious. That’s why she can’t resist the urge to embark on a myriad of green living/home improvement projects and spread the word about them. She cherishes the notion that sustainable housing and gardening will not only make us far less dependent on others regarding the dwellings we inhabit but also contribute to our planet being a better place to live on. You can check her out LinkedIn.