Homegain’s annual home improvement and staging survey revealed the top do-it-yourself home improvement projects that offered the biggest return for your investment. This is a hot topic right now, with selective buyers and sellers wanting to show their home in the best light possible without spending too much money.
Here are 6 of those top improvements:
1. Simple cleaning and decluttering.
This has been said before and is well worth repeating. Remove personal items, organize closets and get the home squeaky clean.
Estimated cost: A little elbow grease and around $300.
Potential return in sale price: $1,500
2. Light and Bright matters.
Clean windows, update lighting and window treatments.
Estimated cost: $375
Potential return in sale price: $1,550
3. Staging.
Rearrange furniture, remove furntiture. Bring in modern accessories and accents.
Estimated cost: $550
Potenial return in sale price: $2,194
4. Landscaping.
Boost the home’s curb appeal with well kept plantings and flowers. Add fresh mulch.
Estimated cost: $540
Potential return in sale price: $1,932
5. Repair electrical/plumbing.
This is important, basic stuff. Repair any lights or outlets that do not work. Repair leaky plumbing. Most uyers take well-working plumbing and electrical as a given so make sure yours is.
Estimated cost: $535
Potential return in sale price: $1,505
6. Replace or clean carpets, and fix floor creaks.
Steam-cleaning or replacing old carpet adds a lot. Creaky floors can drive buyers away. (I know, I was one of them… really. I could have fixed the creaky floor but as a single first time home buyer I did not want to; it drove me away.)
Estimated cost: $647
Potential return in sale price: $1,739
None of those projects were huge undertakings. Yet doing them all has the potential to add $10,000 to the value of your home based on the numbers provided in the HomeGain survey. And hat tip for sharing the article, Styled, Staged & Sold Blog.
Talk to your agent about other things they might suggest, based on your particular home. And best of luck with your home improvement efforts to make selling the home easier.
If you have other ideas, please leave them in the comments. If you found this post useful, we’d appreciate it if you shared it using our share features.
Thank you for reading the First Weber Wisconsin real estate & Wisconsin living blog about small home improvements that can have a big dollar impact when selling real estate in Wisconsin.
photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/merfam/2502171470/