How to raise and maintain accurate property values
A significant number of U.S residents believe that the value of their homes keeps increasing over the years. However, this may be far-fetched seeing as some of the factors house’s worth are beyond many homeowner’s control. That means that most people do not have accurate property values.
That doesn’t mean that it is not achievable though. How you take care of your property is a huge determinant when it comes to increasing its value so whether you want to resell it at a profit, or build equity, the following tips will come in handy.
Work On Its Attractiveness
You know what is said about first impressions? Turns out that it is actually true. As such, you want to focus on the curb appeal of your property. How does your home look for someone who is looking at it from the street?
It should be attractive enough to make potential buyers knock on your front door. Therefore, you want to put your best foot forward when it comes to making the exterior look appealing. Work on the landscaping. If you need to put up a picket fence or plant greener grass or flowers, do it.
Sometimes, you may even have to paint your garage door or refurbish your driveway.
Make the Property Low-Maintenance
Many prospective buyers for your home have a major worry and that is whether the home they intend to buy will be high maintenance. As someone who is looking to sell your home at a good price, you should focus on making your home low-maintenance and most property management services will tell you this.
How do you do that? You can for instance replace some major components of your house such as the roof, water heater, or furnace so that prospective buyers do not have to worry about having to deal with expenses that come with emergency repairs. You may also want to consider making improvements that have to do with making your house easy to clean and maintained. For example, you may want to do away with a wall-to-wall carpet that is hard to clean and replace it with hardwood floors.
Improve Efficiency
You don’t need to be told that energy conservation features play a huge role when it comes to the valuation of your property. Do you? The truth is that energy conservation features can affect the value of your home especially if it is located in an area that experiences extreme temperatures.
In that regard, you may want to consider things like energy-efficient bulbs, enhanced attic insulation, and double-paned windows that will bring your energy costs down. If you can, have a solar system installed in your home. That said, solar system installation is a huge structural and financial commitment so it makes sense more if you will be doing it to improve your home’s value over the long-term and not a swift boost to increase the resale value.
You can tell whether your home is energy-efficient or not by hiring an accredited energy auditor to assess it. Elevator modernization could also be part of improving your home’s efficiency especially if you have a rental property.
Expand The Home
The size of your property has a great impact on its value. The price per square foot is one of the ways potential buyers use to compare similar homes in terms of upgrades and styles. Larger homes often command higher prices.
Do not worry if an appraiser fails to acknowledge the full value of the additional space because prospective buyers will often notice. One of the best ways you can increase the size of your home is by adding a room or two. However, you can create extra space by sprucing up your basement or garage.
Repair And Replace
Prospective buyers will look at how your home systems function and look at how everything else looks generally. That then means that you need to ensure that all the systems in your home are fully functional and up to date.
If you have leaking faucets, repair or replace them. If you need commercial elevator repair get it. If your roof is damaged, get a roofer to fix it. You can never convince anyone to pay for failing systems and a generally malfunctioning home so whatever it is you need to repair or replace, go ahead and do it.
Automate It
The world is evolving into a digitized one so you can be sure that potential buyers for your home would want it to be in line with that. Most Americans now prefer to purchase homes with gadgets and gizmos. If you are not sure what that means, here are some of the things you may want to have pre-installed in your home if you want to make the most out of it.
Remote/Voice Controlled Thermostats- This allows tenants to easily adjust the temperatures in their houses at any time. Through an app on their smartphone, your tenant can turn their HVAC system on and off. Of course, this not only gives them convenience, but it also helps save money on energy costs. You don’t need to be told that this will increase your home’s value, do you?
Internet Protocol Cameras- Such cameras when connected to a Wi-Fi network enhance the value of a home as well as provide renters or homeowners with peace of mind since they get to view the camera footage remotely to find out who has been to their property so that they can report to relevant authorities if there is a need.
Wi-Fi Lights- Here, you can have smart LED lights with Wi-Fi connectivity installed into your property’s wireless network and regulated through voice-controlled systems or mobile phone apps. Such lights can automatically be turned on and off and they have built-in dimming features.
This is not only energy-efficient, but it is also a great option for eco-conscious tenants.
Smart Locks- Everyone takes the security of their home seriously and you can be sure that it will not be any different for potential buyers or tenants. Having smart locks installed in your home makes it convenient for tenants or homeowners since they don’t have to carry keys around and more secure seeing as it will be harder for burglars to break into such a home. The best part is that the locks can be remotely controlled by voice commands or phone apps. You can even have an alarm system set up to alert you and the relevant authorities in case there is a break-in attempt at your home.
Ensure That The Property Has The Necessary Amenities
It would be unthinkable that anyone would want to sell a home without a water or electricity connection, but nothing is new under the sun. Some landlords would offer that and you do not want to be one of them.
If you want to ensure that, the value of your home remains high and continues to increase you want to have all the basic amenities in place and fully functional. Other areas that you need to ensure are in great condition include the basement and attic. Ensure that you have a dumpster rental as well if you are renting out the property.
Take Care of Safety Hazards
You want to ensure that your home is safe for occupation before leasing it out or selling it. Therefore, ensure that anything that may be a threat to the safety of your tenants is taken care of. If any electric naked wires are hanging around, get an electrician to fix it.
Tenants and buyers will not want to pay for a home that is neglected and looks like a safety hazard.
It is important to ensure that you are not held responsible for any fatalities that may occur on your property lest you end up looking for a criminal law attorney to represent you in court once you are sued.
Repaint It
Adding a coat of paint to both the exterior and interior of your home can give it a facelift and help increase its value. You need to repaint your home once in a while depending on the climate of the area and whether or not you have kids or pets.
That said, you should repaint your house once every five years as a general rule of thumb. While at it, paint your ceiling as well to brighten the house.
Clean It
Most homeowners overlook this, but regularly cleaning your home will help maintain its value. Don’t wait for the days leading up to the inspection of your home to do deep cleaning as that may involve a lot of work and some areas may be hard to salvage after they have been dirty for a long time. You can make things easier and better for yourself by deep cleaning your house regularly and this applies to the exterior of the house as well. For instance, parking lot maintenance involves cleaning the area regularly to get rid of oil spillages and the like. Not only will that help your home age better, but it will also increase your home’s value.
Keep Parasites Away
Termites, bedbugs, and other parasites are perhaps the biggest enemies of your home. Unfortunately, most homeowners take action when the damage is already done. If you are keen on maintaining or increasing the value of your home, you can’t afford to have that happen.
As such, you want to have your home regularly fumigated whether or not there is evidence of parasites or not. This will help keep your home structurally sound for years, hence maintaining its value. Another thing you may want to do is have bat removal services if there are any on your property, because you can be sure, no one wants to share a home with such creatures.
How to Finance Home Improvements
Since you want to increase the value of your home, you want to think about how you are going to finance the home improvements. If you are not doing it in cash, consider using any of the other financing methods below.
Credit card- You can easily put your home renovations on your credit card. However, you want to be sure that you will be able to pay off the balance on time.
Cash-out refinances- This is a popular option and it can be a great option if you don’t want to take out a second mortgage but want to tap equity. Now, a cash-out refinance is useless if your equity is limited, so you may want to think about that before going for this financing option.
Home equity loan- A home equity loan is like a second mortgage and it turns your home equity into accessible funds. Such a loan pays out in bulk and features tax advantages, monthly payments, fees, and interests, so be sure to consult with a finance expert before taking this route.
Personal loan- Consider taking out a personal loan if you do not have adequate equity for a home equity loan. With this method of financing, you can expect a higher interest rate but it will be worth it in the end.
Regular wear and tear of your property are unavoidable, but there are things you can do to slow that down or remedy the situation, especially if you want to rent out or sell the property. Regular maintenance of your home goes a long way to preserving or even increasing its value.You may need to liaise with a credit card processing company to maintain your finances for the renovations you need, but it will be worth your while in the end. Besides, by maintaining your property, it becomes safer for tenants and buyers, hence preventing injuries, and protecting both of you from having to go through criminal law processes, including having to find a criminal law attorney.