Resolve to Refresh Your Home

*Guest post by Marcus Lansky

Do you have plans to refresh and remodel your home? Making strategic improvements to your home can increase its value and your overall net worth. Careful planning, which considers which projects do best upon resale, is important at the beginning. Here are a few tips from thisisyourbestyear.

What projects add value?

In general, projects that add the most value to your house are new — durable siding (like Hardiplank), replacement windows, new flooring, new major appliances, new countertops, and new paint.

Avoid any projects that reduce the number of bedrooms in your house. It might be tempting to rip out a bedroom wall to make your living area bigger, but research from MSN Money suggests that a buyer would rather have that extra bedroom.

Similarly, you want to avoid home improvements that reek of too much personality. Avoid wallpaper; it’s too taste-specific. Carpet is a short-term investment, at best. If you have pets and carpets and worn carpet it will make sense to upgrade to a more durable material, like wood or tile. And almost no one recoups the value of a crystal chandelier.

What projects can you do yourself?

Some home improvement projects are relatively easy to tackle yourself. House paint is a forgiving medium. Even if you make a mistake, you can rather easily correct it. Repainting the inside and outside of your house gives it sparkle. And paint is, interestingly enough, the best bang for your buck when it comes to resale value.

NextAdvisor suggests that certain paint colors result in a substantially higher sale price. Light shades of periwinkle or powder blue in the bathroom were particularly popular. Avoid painting any room dark gray or any shade of brown, especially terracotta.

One relatively easy project is a closet reorganization. If you have a big closet with no shelves, adding shelves and a space to hang clothes adds value to your house and also helps you stay organized. Owning a cordless drill/driver will make this project much easier. You will also need wood planks, shelf brackets, screws, rods, and paint.

Sanding and restaining chipped baseboards, window frames, and doors is another great project for DIY enthusiasts.

The kitchen remodel

Homebuyers care about kitchens, and chances are, you would like to have a nice kitchen yourself. Because kitchen remodels are so labor-intensive and require certain skills, you should definitely hire a professional. If you’re in need of a professional for your project, here are a handful of Dallas’s top-rated kitchen remodelers.

If your kitchen appliances are getting a little shabby, it’s time to buy new, energy-star, or LG appliances that will save you money on your electric bill and make you proud of your home.

Other quick kitchen fixes are:

• Replacing damaged or stained cabinet doors and updating hinges and handles. You can do this yourself with a good power tool.
• Replacing dated overhead lighting, especially anything with a neon tube, with an LED fixture. Hire an electrician to make sure it’s properly hooked up to the home’s wiring.
• Replacing damaged or stained flooring. Vinyl tiles and sheets lend themselves to do-it-yourselfers, but hire a pro to install ceramic tile or wood planks.

A gleaming and beautiful countertop adds a nice finish to any kitchen. Up-to-date, inexpensive countertop materials include concrete, recycled glass, and even recycled paper. Laminate and tile countertops are fair game for dedicated do-it-yourselfers. But if you are installing expensive materials like granite or marble, hire a pro who won’t cut it into too many pieces.

So there you have it! Remodeling your home can be fun and even affordable if you do some of the easier projects yourself. Make sure to always budget for the pros when it comes to those specific, highly-skilled tasks.

Remember “thisisyourbestyear”.  You are getting yourself back into shape after the pandemic, don’t forget to give some attention to your house to get it back in shape.

Photos courtesy of Pexels.

*Marcus is an abilitator who helps people with differing abilities start their own businesses through training and/or mentorship.