So you’re thinking of selling. Or, maybe you aren’t but you want to improve the value of your home or your business to prepare for the day you may want to sell in the future. Good thinking! There are a few small changes you can make to a real estate property to vastly increase the value and make it worth your while! For a little effort and cost, you could end up earning quite a larger sum than you would have if you just left the place as is. 

Let’s discuss things you can do to add value to property!

What brings value to a property?
If we want to think about how to increase value, first it’s important to lay out the things that make up the value of a space.

-Location
-Size
-Beauty
-Energy Efficiency
-Technology Capacity
-Market

Of course, there are many factors that play a part in determining the value of a property, and not all of these are changeable. The ones that are changeable are where we should set our focus and think about how we can improve. 

Add Beauty
Improving the value of a property comes naturally when you make the space more attractive, this is the first place you should hone in on. There are many different ways to make a home or an office more attractive, and many of them are cost-effective. 

Here are some ways to add beauty to a property:

-Remodel!!! Think kitchen, bathrooms, living rooms, bedrooms, foyer, and office! All good ways to add value to a property, and lots of it!
-Fresh paint
-Fresh floors; be it hardwood, linoleum, carpet, whatever! Check out some other spaces for sale and get some inspiration from current trends. Find something you would want to buy because that is what others might like as well.
-Deck addition 
-Entrance improvement

All these changes make your house or your office more beautiful to look at and thus, more desirable to live/work in. Whether you are selling now or selling some far-off day down the line, these changes will improve your space and improve your cash flow when the day comes to sell. 

Update Your Systems!
If you have ever bought a house, you know how important it is to understand the state of all the systems and appliances in the house. Because if there is a super old HVAC system, odds are, you are going to have to replace it soon! This drives down the value of a property. Having new HVAC, working pipes and hot water heater, and up-to-date appliances is a great way to negotiate for more money on your sale because the value is much higher when everything is in new and working condition. 

Make sure everything is functional and guaranteed for at least the next 5-10 years and you are likely to reap the highest value in your property sale. 

Ramp Up Your Square Footage!
When you think about real estate, space sells for a certain dollar value PER SQUARE FOOT. This means if you increase the square feet, you increase the value, simple! There are many ways you can do this, I recommend scoping out the scene. Do a little tour of your location and think about convenience. Is there a floor missing a bathroom? Would adding an extra room make a world’s difference in improving the layout? Could you add a deck out back or a sunroom perhaps? What about building another floor? Increase your bedrooms AND square footage all in the same swift move. 

Changes like these will likely cost more than they earn on your sale, so these are recommended mostly for those who intend on staying in the property a while longer. If you want to enjoy such changes of convenience and quality, make the renovations and stay a couple of years to reap the benefits before you sell. 

Go Greener!
Improving energy efficiency is crucial in today’s world. We want to cut down on waste and nonrenewable energy use because we only have one Earth to live on and we want to make sure we are living as healthy as possible. Even the market knows it! That’s why properties with more efficient energy systems are more valuable than outdated energy. 

Here are some features that are important:

-Lighting
-Appliances
-Heat and cooling costs
-Landscaping
-Solar panels

Ensuring these are all energy-efficient and environmentally friendly will improve the value of your property AND improve the state of the planet we inhabit, so consider focusing here! You also save money on utility bills when your house is energy efficient!

LANDSCAPE!
A beautiful backyard is a HUGE selling point. There are ways you can do it for cheap too, including planting some trees (think big, think cherries, avocados, lemons!), planting flowers, and regular lawn maintenance. If you want to spend a little more money and go a little grander, think about koi ponds, swimming pools, hedges, stone patios, and more! 

Look through gardening magazines for some inspiration here and dream up the ways you can create a peaceful, beautiful atmosphere right out back! These are the types of improvements that may end up making you want to stay in your property forever after all!

These are some basic places you can improve the value of your property, but the options are unlimited. Here are a couple of bonus tips to get the most out of improving value:

Consult a professional designer or a realtor. Have them check out your property and they can give you ideas and information about what kind of improvements will be the best for the value of your home.
Search for inspiration online! Your laptop or smartphone is your friend, there are endless, FREE sources of inspo online. You can sift through pictures, read articles about trends, talk to people online and look through previous similar sales to see what kind of improvements similar properties made and how much it increased the value. 

Now get out there and look around your house or office space and really think about what would make it better. Do some thinking and consider upping your property’s value, whether you intend to continue living there or selling it ASAP! As always, reach out if you have any questions or want us to come take a look at your property and give our professional opinion on ways you could improve the value.