If you are planning on selling your home anytime soon, you may be wondering what improvements to make in order to maximise the return on your investment.

Well, most improvements will add value, but when it comes to more expensive renovations, not all will increase your home’s market value enough for you to recoup the full cost of the improvement.

That is why you need to be careful before spending too much money working on areas that won’t really get the most out of the money invested.

Here are some things that you could do, that are likely to boost market value:

First Impressions Always Count

Never underestimate the importance of kerb appeal as it’s the first thing buyers will see and for many statement homes, it becomes an iconic feature. For instance, people may relate to a specific characteristic of your exterior when helping to direct someone, like the home on the corner with the climbing rose or the white house with block paved drive for example.

Maximising kerb appeal helps to get buyers through the door, that is a fact because if they turn up and the exterior of your home looks unkempt, chances are they assume the interior is the same and will turn away.

Spruce up front gardens by cutting the grass and do the weeding, sweep and jet wash pavements and driveways, and fix any loose slabs or broken walls. Windows should look sparkling clean and if the exterior of your home looks dated, give it a fresh lick of paint.

It takes buyers, on average, around 8 seconds to decide if they like a home or not, a couple of those could be spent at the front door. An old door gives the wrong impression, so if you have to replace it for something more modern, secure and attractive, this could be money well spent.

You may have a long list of jobs to do, but these won’t necessarily cost much, most of it will be practical gardening work, and it’ll be well worth all of the effort you put into it.

Outdoor Living

Buyers also look for functional outdoor living areas. Be it large or small, if you have a terrace, make sure that it’s looking its best so that potential buyers can imagine themselves using the space.

Tidy & Clean 

The best thing you can do to help sell your home is to make it as tidy, fresh and clean as possible, that may include some painting and decorating to tone down personal tastes. Homebuyers want to see a blank canvas so that they can envision themselves living there with their own belongings in place, so fresh crisp whites, creams and pale greys will help to achieve that.

Organise cupboard space so that it doesn’t look like the home is lacking storage, walk-in wardrobes should be spacious to be able to walk in, so remove half of the stuff you have there now, to show it off in its full glory.

Remove all obstacles from hallways and circulation areas and rearrange furniture to suit the original use of each room, for instance, make your dining room a room for dining again, or turn your conservatory to an extension of your outside living space rather than a space that never gets used.

Kitchen & Bathrooms

Up to date, fresh and modern kitchen and bathrooms are usually the most common selling points on a homebuyer’s list – but blowing your budget on a complete renovation is rarely recommended. Instead, it may be worth just making some minor cost-effective updates like:

• Repainting wooden cabinets and cupboards, adding new door handles, replacing an outdated countertop or appliance, adding better lighting and redecorating in neutral tones to make the kitchen look brighter and more spacious can work as good in increasing your home’s appeal to buyers.
• Not everyone home has the ‘perfect’ bathroom, but sometimes it is a better strategy to work with what you have, instead of embarking on a complete renovation. Re-grouting and re-caulking your bathroom, updating light fixtures, mirrors, towel racks and other accessories is less expensive and can have a similar effect. If you really need to replace some of the fittings a great way to maximise space is to opt for off the floor washbasins and toilets, it helps with cleaning and makes smaller spaces look bigger.

Ask A Professional To Help You Sell Your Home

Selling your house through a real estate agency who knows the market well can really increase your chances of getting the best possible price for your property. They can offer a free home valuation and be able to give you useful tips on how to prepare the house in order to make it more attractive in the eyes of the buyer.