Home Improvement Tips

-

 


Do you want to sell your house, but you’re not having any luck? The value is not the same as when you first bought it and there are plenty of factors that play into that. If you want to sell, you need to fix your home up a bit to add some value! Lucky for you, we have gathered some helpful tips to help you bump up the value on a budget. Home improvement and keeping up with your home is not the most fun thing, but seeing the value of your home increase after updating it sure does make all that hard work pay off.

 

1. Have Your Home Inspected

You may tell yourself that you have thoroughly inspected your house and you don’t need to pay someone to tell you what you already know. Unfortunately, you may only see surface level problems while an inspector can find the nitty gritty details that can become huge problems over time. Home inspectors can help you find problems such as:

    • Termites
    • Deteriorating roofs
    • Outdated electrical systems
    • Hidden leaks
    • Humidity issues

        Sure, you don’t really want to pay someone hundreds of dollars to tell you what all is wrong in your home, but would you rather pay someone a couple hundred now or pay thousands of dollars in damages later?

        2. Paint, Paint, Paint!

        Let’s face it. Your house is painted in an outdated blush pink or lime green that was in style back in the ‘80s. Though you may like the colors, if you are trying to sell you should paint over those outdated colors with a neutral color. Cool grays appeal to buyers more than that subtle blush pink living room or a bright lime green bathroom. Painting your house can give it an instant facelift and appeal to more buyers, making the selling process a little bit easier. A gallon of paint usually costs $25 so go out and buy you a few gallons and get to painting!

        3. DIY, DIY, DIY

        Interior designers have a special eye for interiors. They can make a small room look bigger and a large space look cozy. However, they can also cost you a pretty penny. If you are on a budget or just really don’t want to bother paying someone hundreds of dollars, you can give yourself a fun DIY project instead!

          • Start by looking for ideas on Pinterest, design magazines, or online
          • Create a mood board so you can have an idea of what you are trying to go for
          • Research similar items to the ones on your mood board. Always look for the best price!
          • If you have furniture you are thinking of throwing away, see if you can upholster, refinish it, or create something new out of it!

        DIY projects can always turn out to be fun, teach you new skills and save you hundreds of dollars.

        4. Cut Energy Costs

        Let’s be honest, we are all guilty of leaving unused electronics plugged in for days on end. We turn on the heater at night when it’s not really necessary and our AC is on full blast when we could have just opened a couple of windows. Cutting your energy costs can help you save money in the future and you can use that money on something else along the way. Call your utility company to run a FREE utility test on your home to figure out ways on how you can save on those energy bills.

        5. Add Money Saving Luxuries

        Saving money. Those are our two favorite words! Luxury? Hmm… sounds expensive... But wait! Adding some MONEY SAVING luxuries in your home can actually bump up the value of your home AND save you money at the same time! For example, a water filtration system doesn’t seem like something that would save you money, but, it purifies your water and keeps you from buying purified water jugs or water bottles at the grocery store. It saves the planet, and get this, it saves you money on water! Though you may not see immediate money saving results, when you calculate how much money you are actually saving per month and per year, you’ll be glad you invested in that small luxury.

        6. Improve the Air Quality in Your Home

        You may not know this, but air quality is really important these days. If your rooms smell like mold or mildew, forget about selling your home. You can hire an air quality specialist to test the air quality in your home and help you determine the best way to improve it. Here are some tips to improve the air quality in your home:

          • Make sure your AC and filtration systems are updated and working correctly
          • Get rid of carpet in the bedrooms à Carpets trap so much dirt and can ruin the air quality in your home if they’re old and not cleaned right.
          • If you don’t want to get rid of the carpets, make sure you are deep cleaning them every couple of months à seems excessive, but trust me, it will keep your rooms clean.
          • Hardwood and laminate flooring are easy to take care of and improve the air quality in your home
          • Make sure there are no hidden mold issues your home.

        7. Give Your Yard a Face Lift

        The first thing people will notice about your home is the landscaping. If your yard is lacking grass and you have dead trees and bushes, home buyers are going to avoid your house at all costs. Some easy and cost efficient upgrades you can give your yard include:

          • Planting a mature shade tree - If your home is hit with direct sunlight, plant a mature shade tree to keep your house cool and add some character.
          • Plant some native plants from the region you live in
          • Plant drought tolerant plants that are easy to take care of
          • Plant some grass to instantly give your yard a face lift

            8. Other Home Improvement Tips

            Some other simple and effective ways you can update your home include:

              • Deep cleaning your home every once in a while
              • Give the illusion that rooms are bigger than they actually are
              • Update your bathrooms. Believe it or not, a simple update to your bathroom and add a lot of value to your home and make your home seem newer than it is
              • Add energy efficient light fixtures
              • And don’t forget, Paint, Paint, Paint!
                  New Horizons Credit Union always wants to see you succeed. If you are looking to improve your home, but don’t really have the money, New Horizons can help you out! We offer a fixed rate Home Equity Loan as low as 4.99% Annual Percentage Rate for up to 60 months. Visit our Mortgage Loans page for more details.

                  Comments

                  Post a Comment

                  Popular posts from this blog

                  6 Steps to Take Before Retiring

                  -
                  Image
                    Everyone counts down the years, days, and minutes until they can retire. But before you retire, there are six important steps you need to take to retire worry free.  1. Define Your Retirement When you define your retirement, you think about what it is you want to accomplish. Do you want to travel the world, the states, or stay at home and relax? Do you want to make improvement to your home, or sell your home and purchase an RV? When you know exactly what it is you want to do when you retire, you will have an easier time transitioning from work to retirement life. 2. Take Stock of Your "Assets" This is an important step because you're taking a look at all the money you have. Look at how much you have in your savings accounts, retirement accounts, stocks and bonds, and any other savings accounts you may have. This will give you a better idea on how much money you can allocate to everything
                  Read more

                  7 Steps to Start Saving

                  -
                  Image
                    Saving can be a little intimidating when you don't know where to start. But remember, the biggest mistake you can make is not saving. Below are a few tips to help you get started with saving. 1. Track Your Expenses The first step to start saving is to track your expenses. Figure out where your money is going, how much you are earning and spending, and how much you have left over. If you use a credit card, you can get a chart with your expenses broken down where you can see what you're spending your money on. Once you figure out where all your money is going, categorize it so it's easier to see where you're spending most of your money. Use this to create a budget in step two.   2. Create a Budget Now that you have your categories, create a budget so you can minimize spending. Categories should include things like: rent / mortgage car payment / car maintenance bi
                  Read more

                  Get Your End-of-Year Financial Health Checkup

                  -
                  Image
                  As the eagerly awaited holiday season gets underway, the end of the year is a great  time to get a financial health checkup to make sure your finances are on track.    With regular checkups, you can fix small problems before they become big issues.   This year-end, keeping financially healthy is especially important due to many economic uncertainties  related to inflation, inventory shortages, as well as the expiration of COVID relief programs put in place more than a year ago to help people manage through the pandemic. Your Financial Health Check Up   Like a physical health checkup, a financial checkup examines your vital signs to be sure all is well when it comes to your financial health and wellness.  Do you have an emergency savings account? How do your credit card balances look? Are you tracking monthly income and expenses? What does your credit score and history look like? These are a few of the vitals reviewed during an end-of-year financial
                  Read more