How to increase the value of your property inexpensively

Posted on Jun 20, 2011 in Selling Tips

Are you looking to increase the value of your home while staying within your budget?

Here are some tips to keep in mind.

Eliminate clutter inside the home. If you’re going to be showing the house to potential buyers, get the house organized and get rid of clutter or put it in storage. A nice, tidy house will seem larger and more elegant.

Wash walls and windows. It’s a lot cheaper to wash walls than to repaint, and many times a good cleaning will make your home’s finishes look good as new. Pressure-wash your home’s exterior, and wash interior walls. Clean your windows so that you can’t tell they’re there.

Clean up the carpet. You can shampoo or steam clean your carpets, or you can use a dry cleaning system, which requires no water, and kills virtually all mould and bacteria. If all else fails, get a professional to do the carpets for you. You’d be surprised how much better your carpet will look after a good cleaning.

Install modern light switches and outlets. Some of the new style switches can be easily installed using the wires already running to the old switches. Just be sure to turn off the power to the room or entire house before doing any work. The new outlets look nice, and give the impression that the electrical wiring in the house is newer than it really is. Dimmer switches are especially desirable.

Refinish kitchen cabinets. Outdated or worn cabinets can bring the whole kitchen down, but refinishing them is relatively cheap and easy to do. If you have a dark or small kitchen, make it look larger and brighter by using a lighter finish on the cabinets.

Up the wattage of your light bulbs to make things even brighter. Just make sure you don’t exceed the maximum specification for lamps and other lights. You could use compact florescent light bulbs in order to make the room brighter without getting new fixtures, plus they save electricity meaning they save you money.