There are many features that would set your house apart from the competition in your neighborhood; some features are expensive, some are obvious, and some are, well, surprising. The obvious ones include floor space, location, and age of the house. If your house is along a first-class coastline, has gorgeous scenery, and is close to kid-friendly theme parks like these vacation rentals in Florida, you are sure that it will attract more buyers and better offers. The expensive features, on the other hand, include the availability of amenities such as a pool, a guest house, a basketball court, an entertainment room, and a modern deck. All these will surely add value to your house, but they can sometimes be too expensive to install and maintain.
As for the surprising features, they are surprising because if you are planning to upgrade a few features in your home before selling it, they might not be the first features to come to mind. They will, however, surprise you when they make you gain/loose tens of thousands of dollars in resale value. Regardless of its location or size, here are 9 surprising features that will add value to your house:
1. Kitchen and bathroom renovation
This should be an inexpensive upgrade such as knocking down the wall that separates the kitchen from the dining room, installing new kitchen flooring, replacing outdated appliances, or adding new cabinets and countertops. In the bathroom, you can change the flooring, enlarge the window, install new lighting fixtures, and replace the faucets, sinks, tub, and shower heads. It could even be as simple as replacing the curtains or changing the cabinet handles. A $1000 remodeling can easily earn you tens of thousands of dollars in resell value.
2. Landscaping
Landscaping is the determinant of the value of your outdoor areas. Stylish, modern, and thoughtful landscaping elements make your house appear neat and attractive right from the streets. Clean walkways, driveway, and convenient garden storage spot also catches the eye of a potential buyer from afar. Remember to keep your landscape features within manageable limits because if it looks too attractive, buyers might interpret it to be high-maintenance, and that can scare them off.
3. Storage space
If you have a dedicated storage cage, your home’s resale value may increase by up to $8000 per square meter. If it is an apartment, adding a garage can make a whole lot of difference. Most houses have limited space and storage options, so buyers will jump onto any chance they find to buy a house with extra space.
4. Fences
Generally, fenced houses are priced significantly higher than those with no fences. The style of fence is a key consideration when valuing a home, with natural materials like shrubs attracting the biggest price boost. Brick and wooden fences are great too, but the same cannot be said about chain-link fences. Buyers want a fence that adds to the home’s curb appeal on top of improving its privacy and security.
5. New ceiling light fixtures
Many homeowners remember to spruce up the ceiling in their living rooms and other high-traffic areas, leaving the bedrooms and other more private rooms with the same old ceiling. That is detrimental to your home’s value. As for the lighting, the quality of your ceiling light fixtures around the home determines how old or dull the home looks. If they are cracked or discolored, the home appears outdated and dull. If they are in great shape, your home seems modern and bright.
6. Trees
Having a mature tree in your garden or backyard can add up to 2% to a median home’s price and up to 15% to an up-scale home in a high-end neighborhood.
7. Energy efficiency
Home shoppers now want to invest in energy-efficient homes for two reasons: One, to reduce energy bills and two, to reduce their carbon footprint. Insulating your home or installing green energy features like solar panels, therefore, will boost your home’s value.
8. Updated siding
Proper siding improves the aesthetic look of your house, helps lower your utility bills, and boosts its resale value by up to 3%.
9. Noise soundproofing
Installing double-pane windows and doors and placing plants to absorb noise, for example, will appeal to many potential buyers because, with all the noise most people work under, everyone wants a quiet and tranquil home.
Conclusion
Note that even as you improve your home, you should be careful not to over-improve it and end up scaring away potential buyers. Remember that if your home has all high-end features but it is located in a middle-class neighborhood, it will only scare away middle-class buyers but it won’t attract high-end buyers. Your investment might not yield the benefits you hope for.
Author Bio: Lena Linetti is an architect based in San Francisco.
