INCREASING YOUR HOME VALUE: Get The Most Out Of Your Investment
Are you thinking about increasing your home’s value as a summer project? Before renting a backhoe and digging out your in-ground pool or tearing apart your kitchen, read on how to get the most bang for your home improvement buck with the following three tips. Increasing your home value can be easy if you have a plan.
TIP 1 – PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE
Regular home maintenance is essential to protecting your largest investment to get the most out of the value of your home. Before you worry about luxury amenities like a swimming pool or marble countertops, go through the house and do some preventative maintenance. You can start by printing out a home walkthrough checklist – after all, that’s what the next buyers will do. Make sure everything on the list is up to snuff. If anything needs work, now’s the time to do it. Remember: If it costs a dime today, it may cost a dollar after it breaks.
TIP 2 – IMPROVE FOR YOU
You’re not renting your home from the next owners. Investing money in improving your home is a great idea: You can increase the value while living in a nicer house. But it’s also easy to go too far down the path of building for the next buyer. Don’t pay for a patio, pool, or three-car garage you don’t need because you think it’ll improve the house’s value. The next buyer might not want to barbecue, prefer a big yard to a pool, or not need a large garage. Build what you want so that even if you don’t get all your money back, you can enjoy your house.
TIP 3 – HELOC, NOT CREDIT CARDS
Don’t pay for home improvements by using your credit card. That will get expensive fast. Instead, see if you can secure a home equity line of credit. The rates on those tend to be much lower than credit cards because you have collateral to secure the loan.
Increasing your home value does not have to be difficult. You have ideas and a list to check to ensure your home is in tip-top shape. Increasing your home value is the way to go. Simple things can make a big difference. Get the most out of your most important investment.
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