Increasing your home’s value is expensive, right? As it turns out, maybe not. Whether you’re looking to sell your home, or just boost up some of its equity for the future, there are easy do-it-yourself projects you can take on yourself to increase your home’s value, without having to take out a second mortgage to do so.
From adding curb appeal outdoors, to freshening up the interiors with a quick coat of paint, these DIY projects can add thousands to your home’s value – no contractors or power tools required.
Paint
Nothing brings new life, and a better return on investment, into a space better than a fresh coat of paint. Painting your walls with a light gray or blue color can increase the value of your home by up to $5,440!
Along with your walls, painting your cabinets not only helps modernize and update the look of your kitchen, but also adds value to your home, A 2018 study by ZIllow found that painting your kitchen cabinets alone can increase your home’s resale value by about $1500 – without the cost of a full kitchen renovation.
Pro Tip: If you’re not picky about colors, ask your local hardware store to see their selection of “oops paint,” which are gallons that have been mixed and either didn’t suit the customer’s taste, or were poured by mistake. You can mix and match colors and save a ton, with gallons of brand-name paint starting as low at $5!
Install a New Front Door
Your front door is one of the first things people see when walking into your home. Updating your front door makes your home’s exterior more appealing to the eye, which helps build up curb appeal – ie: more value – in your home. In fact, a new front door offers homeowners about a 75% return on their investment, meaning you’ll recoup about 75% of what you spend on a new front door in the form of home value.
Update Bathroom Fixtures
All it takes is some new hardware and a screwdriver to take your bathroom from drab to fab – without undergoing major renovations! Pick up some new cabinet knobs and draw handles from your local hardware store (which costs about $200 for a full bathroom), and, if you’re up for it, replace your faucets and install a modern shower head as a cost-effective way to easily change the look and feel of your bathroom.
Clean Up Your Yard
A well-maintained yard can boost your home’s value anywhere from 5% – 20%, and you don’t need to hire a full-time landscaping team to reap those benefits. Choose a sunny Saturday afternoon to mow the lawn, weed your garden, and pick up a few seasonal shrubs, flowers, and mulch to add some color to your yard. This will make your home more aesthetically pleasing to the eye, and increase its overall curb appeal.
Overhaul Your Closet
When it comes to closet space, built-in organization adds major value to your home – especially if you’re looking to appeal to the eyes of potential buyers. With just a few built-in organizational items from your local hardware store, you can install closet shelving and organization in a weekend, and increase your home value by roughly $2,000.
While the initial increase in home value may seem small, so is the overall project funding and time invested. Every dollar adds up, so spending a few weekends here and there to complete these five do-it-yourself projects is guaranteed to increase your home’s value over time, whether you’re choosing to sell now or helping to boost it for the future.
