The Best Projects for Increasing Your Resale Value

Sell your house

When you flip houses, you know that your time means money.

There’s no point in doing any project unless you know for sure that it is going to positively contribute toward your return on investment. Of course, not everyone agrees on what constitutes as a waste of time, and sometimes trendy design elements that appeal to buyers one year turn out to be repulsive the next. Hopefully, we can provide some clarity on the topic with our take on the best projects you should have at the top of your to-do list if you want to increase your resale value on an investment property.

Functionality Is Key

It doesn’t matter how cute the house is if a person doesn’t enjoy living there. Before you address any cosmetic issues, always ensure that the house is fully functional for everyone living in it. Among the best projects you can undertake is ensuring that all the plumbing, electric, and gas appliances are in working order. Additionally, make sure the house isn’t leaking air or water from any crevice. A person should be able to wake up, take a shower, cook a meal, and do all the other things we have come to expect.

Remember: Projects that add to a home’s functionality are often the least sexy ones. As boring as it may be to prioritize re-insulating the attic, no one will want to buy your house if it’s losing heat like it’s going out of style.

Eliminate Bad Design

Sometimes you walk into an old house and it’s like it was designed Through the Looking-Glass, with extra walls, cabinets, and surfaces in strange places. Bad design dates a house and speaks very poorly about its overall character. After you are done ensuring the house is at peak functionality, address these wacky flaws pronto.

Things to look for:

Non-load-bearing walls between rooms that only seem to serve as definition.
Tiny countertops no one could even use placed between things like kitchen appliances and walls.
Drawers and cabinets that cannot open if another drawer or cabinet is open.
Meager light fixtures that fail to illuminate a room.
Popcorn-textured ceilings.

Think Green

Seafoam green walls and carpets are bad, but when it comes to everything else in the house, you want to have green on your mind. Eco-conscious features that promote sustainability are what young home buyers are looking for. When it comes to replacing appliances, always go with Energy Star versions that save power and water. If you can work it into your budget, consider adding things like solar panels to help curb electric costs. Even a well-placed rain garden appeals to those who’d like to reduce their impact on the local water supply.

Give Them Light

However you provide it, find ways to add light throughout the house. Artificial light is good. Natural light is better. However you do it, adding light throughout the home makes it more appealing when people are considering it as an option to buy.

Here are a few ways to add illumination throughout the house:

Place mirrors opposite existing windows to help light bounce through the room.
Add skylights — they work especially well in kitchens and bathrooms.
Install baseboard track lighting in dark hallways.
Trade out old wooden doors for glass versions that let the light in.
Add light colored accents to darker design elements.
Never underestimate the power of pendant lighting.
Consider LED closet rods to add visibility in these tight spaces.

Design trends come and go. When you are flipping a house, it’s best to focus on the things that will add value to the property for years to come. Functionality is key — don’t work on cosmetic changes until the house is up and running well enough that you could live there yourself. Bad design dates a house and turns off potential buyers. Eliminate strange features like excess walls and popcorn ceilings. Green may not be your favorite color, but eco-conscious features draw in young home buyers. Finally, it doesn’t matter how cute the house is if no one can see it. Add light throughout the house for a cosmetic change that also adds accessibility.

Article provided by Bret Engle from DIYGuys.net.