How To Increase The Value of A House

You can to increase the value of your house and get the best return on investment possible, even during a downward trend in the market. Just follow these steps.

Instructions

1. Keep it clean. How your house appears goes a long way to increase house value. If you are looking at two identical homes, but one has trash in the yard, stains on the carpet and a strange odor, which one would you pay more for?

2. Repair highly visible problems. If the paint is flaking off, the screen door is hanging crooked and there are holes in the walls from doorknobs, the value of the house will significantly drop. Keep up on minor repairs and you will not be hit with a huge price tag to tidy things when it is time to sell.

3. Manage your landscaping. Trim trees, bushes and other shrubs so look neat and don't block any windows. Eliminate the weeds in your lawn and around the garden flowers. Utilize rocks or wood chips to cover dirt areas that are difficult to keep weeded.

4. Focus on additions that add something to your home. If you live in a warm climate and every house in your neighborhood has central air conditioning, you should make sure your house has it too. Make modifications to keep your house at the same level as those around it or it won't look as valuable by comparison.

5. Paint those 1970s era yellow and orange walls. Keeping colors up to date is a relative cheap way to increase house value. Replacing aged Formica and floor tile will help increase house value as well.

6. Remove excess furniture or other space-eating items. The more couches, chairs, coffee tables and lamps there are in a room, the smaller it looks. When it comes time to show your house, make the rooms look as spacious as possible. Send the extra clutter to storage.

Tips & Warnings

• Remember, the most value is added by taking care of the things that are most visible.