Increasing Your Home Value Do's and Don't's

Increasing your home value before putting it on the market is a wise decision, but only if you make smart home improvement choices. Building a lagoon-style swimming pool with a waterfall may add to the value of your home but it doesn’t necessarily add money back to your wallet. Our list of dos and don’ts ensures you’ll increase your home’s value and your return on investment (ROI).

Do add curb appeal to your home. They say we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover but they said nothing about judging a home by its curb appeal. Your home may boast the finest cabinetry, countertops, and flooring in the entire neighborhood but if you’ve got an overgrown yard or a tired-looking home exterior, most home buyers won't care to find out what’s inside the front door. Fresh landscaping, a new front door and/or garage door, and repainting the porch and shutters perform wonders for your home’s exterior.

Don’t go overboard. A new outdoor kitchen, jacuzzi and luxury swimming pool will increase your home’s value but the return on investment may not add up. Save those upgrades for your new home.

Do increase square footage. The most obvious way to do this is to add a new room to your home, but if that’s not a project you’re willing to take on you can also consider building a new deck to increase outdoor living space or finishing the basement to improve existing space.

Don’t convert the garage or carport. Sure, you’re technically adding square footage to your home but most homeowners want a garage or carport.

Do renovate the kitchen and master bath. New cabinetry, countertops, flooring and upgraded appliances are all you need to update a kitchen before selling a home. For the master bathroom, new vanity and countertop and upgrading the shower or tub are the best ways to spiff up this room.

Don’t change the layout of your kitchen and bathroom. Rearranging your sink, dishwasher or stove is quite costly and time-consuming.

Do improve efficiency and add smart upgrades. Fix drafty doors and windows, seal cracks around light switches and electrical sockets, and add insulation where it's needed. If you live in an older home with single pane windows, upgrade to Energy Star rated windows to improve utility costs. You’ll also qualify for a green tax credit. A cheap and easy way to learn how to best improve your home’s energy efficiency, contact your local electric company to find out if their office provides free energy audits. Smart home technology is becoming increasingly important to new home buyers. The cost of smart upgrades can be quite costly so we recommend making upgrades where they count the most, like adding a water filtration system to the home, upgrading to a smart thermostat and smoke detector, and increasing security with a video doorbell.

Don’t forget to hire a home inspector. Repairing obvious issues like a leaky faucet or drafty door are easy problems to spot and fix ourselves but your home could be hiding problems beneath the floors and behind walls that only an expert home inspector could detect. Sometimes the upgrades our homes need the most to increase their value aren’t seen by potential buyers but they’ll pay off for you and the homebuyer in the long run.

Are you thinking of updating your kitchen and bathroom to increase your home value? McCarley Cabinets wants to help you get the highest value for your home by building high-quality custom cabinetry for your kitchen and bath. Get started today with a free estimate by calling 662-728-1533.