Top 3 Ways To Boost The Value of Your Home

Clean up, Clear Out Cost range: $0 (DIY) to $2,500 (pro) Potential return: 3 to 5%*

Nothing drives away would-be buyers faster than clut­ter, grime, and the weird smells that accompany a messy home. Bruce Irving, a renovation consultant and real estate agent based in Cambridge, Mass., tells clients to imagine their boss is coming to dinner with his or her spouse. “Your home should be at least that nice on the day of any open house,” he says.

Vital to the process is de-cluttering and depersonalizing the space as much as possible. Buyers will have a hard time imagining themselves in your home if it’s filled with family photos and other personal effects.

Spruce Up the Kitchen Cost range: $300 to $5,000 Potential return: 3 to 7%

It’s a real estate adage that the kitchen, more than any other room, sells the home. In fact, 53 percent of real estate professionals said that the kitchen is among the most important rooms of the home to have in good shape before selling.

But that doesn’t mean tens of thousands of dollars need to spent on a new one. “Given all the volatility in the real estate market, you can’t spend megabucks on any project, even a kitchen, and expect to get that money back,” says Bill Wilson, a real estate professional in upstate New York. His first advice to clients is to make all of those minor repairs that can lead to serious second thoughts for buyers—the leaky faucet, the loose light fixture, the burn mark on the countertop.

Once the kitchen is fully functional, think about a gentle spruce-up. For a few hundred dollars, the walls can be painted, the cabinet hardware can be updates and a new curtain can be added which will give the space a clean, fresh look. A couple thousand dollars will buy a top-performing refrigerator, range, and dishwasher, all with popular stainless-steel finish.

Freshen Up the Bath Cost range: $300 to $1,000 Potential return: 2 to 3%

Buyers want to see that a home is clean and well-maintained, especially in the bathrooms. “Simple improvements like caulking the tub or re-grouting the tile floor will go a long way in the mind of a buyer,” says Bree Al-Rashid, an agent with Redfin, a real estate brokerage. And consider this: 42 percent of real estate professionals surveyed said the bathroom is one of the most important rooms of the home to have in good shape.

Installing new bathroom fixtures will make the space look brighter and more appealing. “I tell my clients to replace anything with a handle, especially if the home has hard water, since it causes so much metal corrosion,” says Ginny Ivanoff, a real estate consultant in Carlisle, Pa. Updating the mirror and lighting will improve the sensory experience.

Reference: Consumer Reports

http://www.consumerreports.org/…/top-5-ways-to-bo…/index.htm