How to Add Value to Your Home

With 2016 just around the corner, it’s time to start thinking about you plan to go about reaching all the goals you’ve set for yourself or your family.

If one of them is selling house so you can either go bigger, smaller, or you just want something new and different, it’s a good idea to first assess just how sale-ready your current home might be. And for that, it’s a great idea to listen to what the experts cite as the most important improvements you can make to increase your home’s value.

Here, for example, are the top five home improvements as featured on the American Home Shield website:

• Install a New Steel Door
• Update Your Kitchen
• Create a New Bedroom
• Add a Deck
• Redo the Bath

Of course, only you know which, if any, of these tasks apply to you. But let’s say, for the sake of discussion, that your kitchen and/or one of your bathrooms could stand a little sprucing up. If so, then here are more details on why it’s in your best interests to get that work done before you put your home on the market:

• Bath remodels, on average, return 72.5% on your investment. Just don’t overdo it and create something so wonderful (and expensive!) that it’s out of character and out of step, budget wise, with your home and the neighborhood you live in

• With more and more baby boomers entering or nearing their retirement years, you would do well to include bathroom safety features into your bath remodel plans. Grab bars, high seat toilets, anti-scald shower valves, and walk-in tubs are just a few of the options available to you.

• If you’re remodeling to sell vs. for your own enjoyment, don’t go crazy with the color scheme, either.

• Or, what if you have the space for an additional bathroom? Well, you might just want to ahead and get that done as even one more bathroom could add up to 20% to your home’s resale value.

• Moving along to your kitchen, the first thing you want to establish is a reasonable budget in keeping with national and local trends. Nationally, the average cost for a kitchen make-over is $19,000.

• How much of what you invest can you expect to get back when it comes time to sell your home? About 83% according to American Home Shield.

• What are prospective home buyers looking for in a new kitchen? For answers to that question, we turned to HouseLogic.com. Here’s a digest of their recommendations:
  • Paint it color neutral – either white or gray
  • Embrace smaller appliances
  • Install quartz vs. granite counter tops
  • Install a touch-activated faucet
  • And so on

The moral of this blog? Even if you’re not planning to sell your home and just want some new magic created in your kitchen or bath, Your 1 Plumber is here to handle all plumbing services required to get the job done – and always to your complete satisfaction. In fact, we guarantee it.