You can spend thousands of dollars on your home to make it a better place for you to live. But not all projects are created equal. There are some remodeling projects that add value to your Kansas City Home and some remodeling projects that just make the home more comfortable for you. If you think you might be selling a home in the next few months or years and want to add value, what projects should you tackle?
We did a bit of online research, and this is what we found.
If you visit HomeAdvisor.com where they are trying to help their contractors land jobs, they have a top 7 list of remodeling projects that add value but also could cost a pretty penny:
- Add light by knocking down walls and vaulting ceilings, yikes.
- Clean up the Landscape and the Hardscape to improve curb appeal.
- Create a Home Office, good advice as more people work and school from home.
- Add a Deck, Patio or Firepit.
- Finish Your Basement
- Update or Add Bathrooms
- Update your Kitchen.
Most of this above list can be a bit pricey. We then found a much better list of DIY remodeling projects that add value and are less likely to break the bank and are actually items we often do to make a home more sellable.
- Deep Clean and Declutter: We have walked through a lot of houses where the seller had been trying to sell their home in a traditional manner for months with no luck. After we purchased, and they moved out, taking all the clutter and STUFF, we just cleaned it and relisted it and had no problem selling. Taking a couple of months to clean out and clean up can add thousands in value to your home and be one of the simplest non-remodeling projects that add value to your home.
- Paint the Interiors: This is one of our cheapest repairs we make next to cleaning. Often we find that the home has a lot of different colors that are not quite neutral, that the average buyer does not like. Or in some houses we see where the homeowner attempted to paint, but was very messy, causing us to need to redo it. So if you tackle this project yourself, make sure you know what you are doing, and take your time so you get the best results.
- Spruce up the Yard: We have purchased many houses where the yard has been neglected for years. Flower beds full of weeds and overgrown shrubs. What was 10 or 20 years ago a beautiful yard, has not been tended in the last 10 years and just needs someone to put in a lot of time and love, or rip it out and start over. So if you take the time now, your potential buyers will not be seeing your yard as a huge project taking time and money.
- Add Lighting: Rather than removing walls as mentioned by HomeAdvisor above, think about removing old heavy curtains from windows. Just taking away curtains and old fashioned window treatments and replace with modern blinds can add a ton of light. Replacing light fixtures or in the case of many houses we buy, just replacing all the missing lightbulbs can be helpful too..
- Update your Bathroom. While you may not be able to completely redo a bathroom, replacing lighting, faucets, and fixtures and a good coat of paint can go a long way. And while your at it, don’t forget to clean the tub – a good product that can help you work wonders on that dirty shower is Barkeepers Friend, use the liquid version and some elbow grease to make things sparkle.
- Update Your Closet: After decluttering spend a few dollars on organizational items to create a more custom storage look. Add shoe racks, wire drawers, and matching hangers for that designer look. Or invest a few more dollars on a whole new closet organization system.
- Refinish Cabinets: This is not always an easy project, but I have seen our contractors work wonders on cabinets with spray paint and steel wool. There are a lot of great how-to videos and then once the finish has been changed, update the hinges and knobs.
- Replace Floors: It is now trending that carpeting is out and a solid surface is what everyone wants. And in the last few years, a new flooring product called Luxury Vinyl Plank is taking over the industry. It’s not for every home, but it is not overly expensive and can be easy to install.
- Update Kitchen Appliance: This one is as simple as trading out the old for new updated stainless, although right now, the appliance suppliers are struggling to keep up with demand.
- Remove Popcorn Ceilings: This can be a very simple but messy project. You can find a lot of great how-to videos on YouTube. Do be careful however because in some older homes those popcorn ceilings contain asbestos and you need a professional to do the work.
We hope this gives you a few ideas on what remodeling projects to tackle to add value and what to skip. If you are getting it ready to sell and you find you just don’t have the time or money to do any of these things and you want to sell it as it sets. No cleaning. No updating. No repairs. Well, we are here for you. We buy houses like this all the time. We don’t pay top dollar as we are then going to have to put in the time and money, but we do make a fair cash offer that will close when you need it too.
Give us a call at (816) 408-3600 or fill out a simple form to tell us about your house and we can discuss what we might be able to offer you for your house.