8 Ways To Improve The Value Of Your Property Without Breaking The Budget

Posted on June 25 · Comments

Thinking of selling your home? There are a few things that you can do to improve the value of your property without breaking the budget.

According to the experts, the key to improving the resale value of your home is to increase the “perceived value” of your home. Looks are everything. You don’t want to spend a lot of money, so here are a few things ideas that will add some resale value or give you a better chance of getting your asking price on your home.

1. Clean Up

First impressions count. And if your house is messy, the first impression wont be a good one. This seems like a no brainer, but you would be surprised how many sellers fail to do this one.

We once looked at a rental property that had been on the market for months. The moment we walked in the door we knew we wouldn’t be buying it. It wasn’t a bad place. It was just a pigsty. There were old food and containers strewn all over the floor – all over the house. There was a girl passed out in her pyjamas on the couch. I felt sorry for the owners. They continually dropped their asking price to try and sell the property, which they finally did – after the tenants moved out and they could give it a good clean.

Wash down walls, tidy bedrooms, take out the garbage, do the washing up, put away the dishes and the ironing, vacuum the floor, pick up the toys in the yard and otherwise give you home a good clean. Make sure the kitchen sink, the bathroom and the toilet sparkle. Get rid of mould, lime scale, rust and stains.

2. Declutter

Spend a few minutes looking through home magazines at the checkout and you will notice the minimalistic decorating. This is what we’re aiming for. Have a good look around your house and remove excess clutter.

Remove appliances and other stuff from the kitchen bench top, pack books away, tidy up anything on display, stash stuff in cupboards, remove excess furniture. Aim to make the rooms look bigger and lighter.

Send unwanted items to the charity store or sell them online for some spare cash.

The bonus is that packing and moving will be a lot easier.

3. Dehumanise

You want the potential buyer to be able to picture themselves living in your house, you want them to become emotionally invested in the property.

So if you have a huge collection of porcelain frogs on display, some questionable artwork or photos of the kids and their kindergarten finger paintings all around the house, then it might be a good idea to pack them away – just for a little while.

You will be giving the buyer a blank slate in which they can mentally “move in” and start decorating, placing their own furniture and hanging their own pictures.

3. Fix up the garden

First impressions start even before a potential buyer walks through the front door. Give the front gate, the yard and the front door a make over.

This doesn’t mean spending thousands on landscaping. Mow the grass, sweep the path, trim the edges, do some weeding, prune the bushes, hide the garbage bins and any junk hanging around the yard, scrub the pavers, clean the pool, place an attractive pot plant or two near the front door and on the porch or balcony. Add a few plants – attractive low maintenance plants work well, and lay down some mulch to make the garden look neat.

Give the front door a clean (and maybe a paint) and put down a welcome mat.

Spruce up the front fence, repairing any damage, and giving it a lick of paint if necessary.

4. Let there be light

A well lit house sells. You will often see real estate photos taken with all the lights on. Do the same. Open the blinds and the curtains and the doors and turn on the lights.

Don’t forget to clean the windows so that the sunlight can come in unfiltered.

5. Deodorise and Odorise

For some reason this is a touchy subject, people are a bit funny about smell, but here it goes.

When it comes to getting rid of smells in the house, I’m not just talking about getting rid of stinky dog smell, damp smell in the bathroom, cigarette smell, or the lingering odour of last night’s curry.

Let’s face it, we all have “a smell”. Call it pheromones or whatever, despite our every effort to cover it up, we have a smell, even if we can’t smell ourselves.

As you want your potential buyers to start imagining your home as their home, you don’t want them to smell you, or any bad smells like the family pet.

Air out your house well before having prospective buyer drop by. Add a deodorising scent judiciously, like an air freshener, an oil burner, or bake a cake. Don’t overdo the smelly stuff though, no need to give your visitors an asthma attack.

6. Paint

We’re heading into spending money territory now. But as far as reno’s go, painting is about the cheapest. A coat of paint can really freshen up a house. Be sure to pick warm, neutral colours. If you’re not sure, ask at the paint shop.

When we first moved to Queensland and started looking for a house, I couldn’t believe how many places were painted inside with bright yellow. Obviously, there are a lot of people who like this – but yuk!

If you’re painting for yourself, pick whatever colour you like, if it’s for resale stick with boring old neutrals.

7. Fixtures and Fittings

The house we eventually bought (even though it was dark and smelly) had poor fixtures. The light shades were cracked and dirty and looked like something from grandma’s time, the ceiling fans were peeling and full of rust, handles on the kitchen cabinets had rotted away. The handles alone cost less than a dollar each to replace. Of course, this worked out well for us, because we negotiated a lower price.

If you’re selling, think about updating some of the fixtures. It could be a simple as a couple of dollars for a new modern looking lamp shade.

8. Small Renos

If your are thinking of renovating focus on the kitchen and the bathroom. These are the parts of the house that benefit from a spruce up. You don’t need to pull the whole room out and start again, though.

In the bathroom, think about painting the tiles and the vanity, putting in a new shower screen and updating the fixtures, re-grouting the tiles. You can get tile and laminate paint as well as cheap fixtures from your local hardware store that you can easily DIY. Don’t forget to scrub any mould off the walls before painting.

Same with the kitchen. Think about painting the cupboards or replacing the doors, getting the bench re-laminated, painting the tiles, changing the cabinet handles and putting in a new light fitting.

Before open day, give your whole house the going over with a critical eye. Think in terms of buyer not seller. What does the buyer see? How would you feel if you were buying this house?

As a final note, find a good real estate agent and ask them what they think you should do to improve the resale value. They want you to get the best price for your house just as much as you do, so that they can get their big juicy commission. An honest, and experienced real estate agent will be able to give you valuable advice on selling your property.

What has your experience been when selling a house? Got any other cheap reno ideas? Do you think the “current economic climate” has an effect on getting the asking price on your house? Why not share your ideas. I’d love to hear from you.