Planning Your Home Renovation: Where to Start

You’ve found the perfect home to remodel, either for yourself or to resell for a profit. But you aren’t sure where to start. What renovations will give you the best profit? What areas of the home need the most attention to make the biggest impact? Basically, how can you make the home look as good as possible to enjoy for yourself or to make the most profit?

Elevated Title provided some feedback, based on the closings it has overseen.

Unfortunately, the reality is that major renovations never see a bigger return than the investment. However, you can make a big impact with minor renovations and focus on those upgrades that will get the highest return.

Here are the renovations and upgrades you can make that will have the biggest impact:

Painting

The easiest renovation you can make is to repaint the house inside and out — or wherever it is needed. Not only should you paint those rooms that a look a little dated or discolored, but you should also paint to cover up any bright or garish colors. Neutral colors like white, beige, and grey are best. They make the space seem bigger, and they allow people to project their own style onto the space when they are looking at it. Plus, light grey is on trend right now in home decor.

Painting is one of the cheapest upgrades you can make. If you do the work yourself, you’ll spend less than $50 per room on the paint and the rollers. If you hire someone, you’ll pay more, but you’ll also get the job done without any sweat equity. If you do the job yourself, just make sure that you take your time to do it properly and that you use the right paints. Otherwise, your hard work will be for naught when the paint starts peeling, the cover looks patchy, or you ruin your floors with a paint spill.

Flooring

One of the first places people look when they enter a home is the floor. If the floors are cheap, like linoleum or vinyl, people will have a lower impression of the home. If the floors are in poor condition, such as badly scratched hardwoods or discolored tile, people will also have a lower impression of the home.

You don’t have to get top-of-the-line flooring to make an impression. Instead of aged hardwoods, you can opt for a simple bamboo or even manufactured flooring like Pergo to make an impression while also sticking to a budget. Tile is also a great choice since it looks good and is durable. There is a range of options, depending on the material, to help you stick to a budget but still make an impression.

Landscaping

The first time a potential buyer lays eyes on your house, they form a positive or a negative impression. The first time they see your house is when they are pulling into the driveway. If they form a negative impression from the street, it can be hard to overcome that perception, even if the inside looks amazing. Even if they are ultimately persuaded, that negative impression of the outside will cause them to lower the value of your home in their minds.

It’s called “curb appeal”, and your landscaping can improve it significantly. Get the lawn looking lush and green. Plant a few well-placed bushes and shrubs. If you’re feeling fancy, plant some perennial flowers that will grow in full year after year. Just creating a nice lawn that has beautiful plants and is free of clutter will make a big impression on potential buyers. Pair that with an exterior re-paint and you’ll make a big impact.

Of course, you can make other upgrades, but these simple fixes will make a big impact for not a lot of money. When you are looking at new houses, make a list of all the repairs and upgrades that would be needed so you can make a plan of attack. What you ultimately decide to upgrade will depend on your long-term goals for the house, what kind of budget you have, and whether you are looking to make an immediate return on it. Work with a contractor to get expert feedback as you plan.

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