Trends That Increase Home Value
Whether you want to sell your home soon or are just planning for the future, you’ll want to find ways to increase your home’s value. Over time, your home’s value may decrease as it’s used and loved and lived in, but a sturdy and well-loved house doesn’t always sell on the market. That’s when you start to wonder how to add value to your home.
How to Increase Home Value
There are several ways to increase the value of your home, and many of them come down to keeping up with regular maintenance and repairs. Others are decor tips that can help make your home seem expansive and spacious. Whichever methods you choose, you can increase your home’s overall value.
More Space
Bigger homes are more likely to sell for more money than smaller homes, but that doesn’t mean you have to pay for massive renovations. Look around your home and see if you can knock down any walls to make the area feel and look bigger. Maybe adding a small half-bathroom somewhere will add usable square footage and convenience.
Perhaps it’s just a matter of how you arrange the furniture and the color you paint the walls. There are many tips and tricks to make your home look bigger and more spacious without resorting to renovations, so if you can’t increase the literal square footage of your home, you can at least make it seem larger to potential buyers. In general, lighter colors and lots of light help a space feel more expansive.
Energy Efficiency
These days, energy efficiency can go a long way. More people are looking to change their habits to become more environmentally friendly and cost-effective, and they’re looking for energy-efficient homes as well.
If your home is already energy-efficient, you’re good to go. It’s a good idea to make sure there’s no way you could be even more efficient because energy efficiency is an excellent way to boost your home’s value.
If you’re unsure whether your home is energy efficient, you can find out by checking on several key energy-sucking features, including:
- Heating and cooling: Look at how much you spend on heating and cooling every year. Can you reduce this cost to preserve energy?
- Windows and doors: Make sure your windows and doors are installed properly so they don’t let heat out during the winter or in during the summer. Are the windows and doors insulated all over the house, or are there places where they could use the upgrade?
- Lighting: Technological advancements have made it so you can use energy-efficient lightbulbs without sacrificing brightness. The same level of brightness without the high energy cost should be reason enough to switch to energy-efficient lighting.
- Appliances: Just like lighting, there are now few reasons not to upgrade your appliances to be energy efficient. They save you money on your energy bills, and they work just as well — or better — than ones that aren’t energy efficient.
Solar panels are also an option for making your home energy efficient, but not every home is ideal for installing them. However, landscaping is another way to make your home more energy-efficient, and it’s a method many people forget. If your front or back hard has mature trees that shade your house, thus reducing your cooling costs, they will inevitably add value to your home.
Reduce Maintenance
One of the best ways to increase your house’s value is to reduce the level of maintenance it needs. A low-maintenance home is much more attractive to potential buyers, and you can offer this perk by updating the major appliances in your home.
This goes beyond a finicky stove or a refrigerator that’s reaching the end of its life cycle. If you have a leaky pipe or an air conditioner that makes awful noises, you’re better off replacing them with new items that won’t be fussy and cause the new owners any problems.
Go through your house and see what adds value to a home if updated. These can include water heaters, HVAC systems, garage doors or roofs that need repair.
It’s a good idea to walk through your home and note all the things that need repairing. Even seemingly small repairs can seem like a giant chore to new homeowners if there are many of them, so make sure they will have nothing to worry about when they move in.
Curb Appeal
You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but many potential homebuyers do judge a house by its appearance, which is why curb appeal is so important. It’s your chance to make a good first impression and encourage homebuyers to see the interior of your home.
This can be as simple as making sure your yard is landscaped neatly and even pops out a little more than your neighbors’ yards. Make sure your house doesn’t have any chipped paint or anything unsightly front and center. Do any repairs or upgrades you’ve been putting off, including painting the front door or upgrading your garage door.
Benefits of Updating Your Garage Door
Updating your garage door can really help increase the value of your home. If you’re wondering how much value a garage door adds to a house, just think of when you were buying your home. Would you have considered a home that had a garage without a door? A garage that was totally open to the world, revealing all your belongings to every passerby? Probably not.
Here are some examples of how updating your garage door can add value to your house:
- Appearance: We talked about curb appeal, and the garage door plays a large part in your home’s appearance, especially if your garage is at the front of your house.
- Security: You may not keep your most valuable items in your garage, but you still want to ensure your possessions are secure. Plus, if your garage is attached to your home, you’ll want to be extra vigilant about security to ensure that your possessions and your family remain safe.
- Energy: Older garage doors that aren’t insulated will inevitably increase your utility bills. Along with the other energy-efficient methods you put into place to increase your home’s value, add an updated garage door to that as well. This is especially crucial if you have rooms above your garage.
- Value: Newer garage doors are modern and sturdy, with a higher lifespan, so they’re a great long-term investment. Plus, you can have your garage door match your home’s style to increase the curb appeal further.
Replace Your Garage Door With Blankenship Garage Door
If you’re looking to increase your home’s value, a simple upgrade of your garage door can do wonders for you. At Blankenship Garage Door, we’re proud to offer high-quality residential garage doors so you can increase your home’s value without fuss.
Get in touch to talk about your garage door update by filling out our online contact form or calling (541) 383-2658.