The Big Picture On How To Increase Property Value:
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- Boost the property’s exterior with landscaping, a fresh coat of paint, or new fixtures to make a strong first impression.
- Modernize the kitchen and bathrooms with new hardware, countertops, and fixtures. This upgrade significantly enhances the property’s appeal and functionality.
- Consider adding another bedroom or bathroom, or open up the floor plan to create a more spacious and modern living area.
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Looking for ways to raise your property value?
Pricing in real estate has little to do with what you paid for the property or how much you spent improving it. Real estate values and rents are based on one thing: what buyers and renters perceive the value to be.
This is not to say you should do anything immoral, such as hiding structural problems with popcorn ceilings or painting over mold instead of treating it. If there are true dangers or problems with a property, you need to disclose them to buyers. That’s not just ethical; it’s legally required.
But appearances matter in real estate. The difference between a $200,000 property and a $230,000 property may be only $3,000 worth of upgrades, not $30,000. Sometimes small changes will drastically impact the property’s functionality (e.g. #1 below), or create an image of luxury (e.g. #6), or simply make the property an easier place to live (e.g. #5).
In other cases, it’s about managing first impressions.
Why Increase Your Property Value?
The simple fact is that, all things being equal, most things lose value as time passes (except maybe for wine, collectibles, and the land your property is on). So, as the owner, you have plenty of reasons why you’d like to increase your property’s value. Here are some of them.
Reason | Description |
Higher Sale Price | Enhancing property value can lead to a higher sale price when selling, maximizing return on investment (ROI). |
Increased Rental Income | Improved properties can command higher rental rates, boosting regular income from tenants. |
Better Financing Options | Higher property value can improve loan-to-value ratios, making refinancing options more favorable. |
Enhanced Equity | Increasing the property value enhances home equity, providing more leverage for future investments or improvements. |
Attract Quality Tenants | Well-maintained and upgraded properties attract higher-quality tenants, leading to reduced vacancy rates. |
Market Competitiveness | Properties with higher value stand out in the market, making them more competitive and easier to sell or rent. |
Tax Benefits | Certain property improvements may qualify for tax deductions or credits, reducing overall tax liability. |
Future-Proofing | Upgrading and maintaining a property ensures it remains relevant and desirable in future market conditions. |
So, how can you increase your property’s value without spending a fortune?
1. Create Another Bedroom
Many homes have perfectly good rooms that aren’t classified as bedrooms because they don’t have a closet.
So add a closet.
This cheap upgrade just involves a small drywall buildout, but listing a three-bedroom house instead of a two-bedroom house can mean a price difference in the tens of thousands of dollars.
If you don’t feel like hassling with contractors, go to IKEA and buy a handsome wardrobe. Voila! A new bedroom, which can easily add hundreds of dollars to the rent you can ask.
When hunting for rental properties, you can even keep an eye out for properties with these “bonus rooms.” You might buy a two-bedroom, only to have a three-bedroom on your hands a few days later.
Alternatively, if your property has an exceptionally large bedroom, you can always split it in two with simple framing and drywall. As long as there are existing outlets in both rooms, you don’t even have to mess around with wiring.
The number of bedrooms is one of the primary drivers of real estate value. Adding a new one is one of the fastest ways to increase your property value and build equity in your property.
Pro Tip: To be classified as a bedroom, the room needs at least one window!
2. Kick Up Your Curb Appeal
First impressions matter. A lot. You need your property’s first impression to be stellar.
That means a well-groomed lawn and paint that’s not flaking or faded, at the minimum.
But don’t stop there. How does the garden look (if there is one)? Are the trees trimmed back from the house? How are the shrubs and other landscaping?
Could the house benefit from more privacy? Consider planting a hedge, or latticework with ivy. If that’s too much work, just buy a few potted bushes and line them up where you want more separation from the outside world.
If the backyard is noisy, buy a fountain to burble away and block traffic noises or loud neighbors. The easiest trick is simply to buy some potted plants and line the walkway or home entrance. No muss, no fuss, no breaking the bank.
There’s no quicker way to increase your property value than by boosting its curb appeal. Brainstorm as many exterior improvement ideas as you can to spruce up the property’s first impressions, and when you budget is tight, there’s always a less expensive option if you get creative.
3. Swap Out the Kitchen & Bathroom Hardware
You’d be amazed what clever, cute or charming hardware can do to a kitchen or bathroom. Replace those tacky 1980s cabinet knobs or drawer handles with a new look. You could go for charming rustic, or fun and kitschy beach house, or ultra-sleek and modern, or anything else that fits well with your existing cabinetry and vanities.
We all have at least one friend with spectacular taste. Call her up, stroke her ego a little, and offer to buy her lunch if she swings by Home Depot with you to pick out some upscale hardware for your kitchen and bathrooms. You can do the actual installation work yourself with just a screwdriver, but it goes twice as fast and is twice as much fun if your friend helps you install them too. Kick in some beer or wine to sweeten the deal.
Need some more ideas for sprucing up your kitchen or bathroom on a budget to raise your property value? Here are seven hacks to redo your kitchen and bathrooms for almost nothing.
4. Raise the Rent Before Selling
Thinking about selling a rental property to another investor? Raise the rent, so you can show off those higher cap rates, income and cash flow.
This strategy even works if you’re planning on selling to a homeowner. “Rents for $1,800, but your estimated mortgage payment is only $1,064!”
Just be sure you don’t lose your tenants when you raise the rent though, if you’re selling the property as a turnkey to another landlord.
As a final thought, what do your current renters say about the property? Are they cooperative and impressive ambassadors for your home, when prospective buyers visit? Or are they dirty, disrespectful, or disreputable? If the latter, give them notice to vacate if possible, and either bring in some more impressive renters or leave the property vacant while marketing it.
Don’t forget to screen all applicants thoroughly! Bad tenants hurt your property value, by turning off prospective buyers.
5. Add a Bathroom
People can’t get enough bathrooms. A property with as many bathrooms as bedrooms reassures renters and buyers that they’ll never have to wait for the bathroom. Which, of course, no one likes to do.
But it’s also a mark of modernity – once upon a time, almost all properties were built with only one bathroom. Today’s homes are built with several (in some cases bordering on “many”).
Where adding a bathroom can get expensive is rerouting plumbing to a pipe-less part of the house. So get a sense of where the plumbing runs through the house, and whether it’s possible to add a new bathroom using the existing plumbing lines. Even a half bathroom adds lots of value!
6. Add a Second Sink in the Master Bathroom
Who doesn’t love his-and-hers sinks in the bathroom? If you have the space, add a second sink.
The cost of replacing a single-sink vanity with a double-sink vanity can range from $500 up to $5,000, so be careful your costs don’t spiral out of control. Get a few prices and see what’s possible with your property’s bathroom.
This is one of those little things that makes a huge difference to renters and homebuyers, so if you can add a second sink for a three-digit price tag, it’s money well spent.
7. Replace or Repair the Roof
Since we were on the topic of curb appeal, another way to get a big increase in property value is fixing or replacing your roof. New paint won’t help your home’s appeal if there’s water damage from a roof leak. The roof is one of the first things a home inspector will check because the health of a roof is the biggest factor to determine a home’s value. If a home inspector sees a damaged roof, your property immediately gets put into the “fixer upper” category.
Fortunately, replacing shingles is fairly easy, however, you want to make sure the shingles match the existing ones. Also take into consideration your roof’s overall age. It might be more cost effective in the long run to replace rather than repair. If it’s shuffling past its expected lifespan, a whole new roof might make more sense than paying $1,000 to buy just one more year.
Just remember to ask the roof contractor for some spare shingles just in case later down the road, one gets damaged.
8. Drop (Downstairs) Walls for an Open Floor Plan
No one wants to live in a honeycomb, at least on the first floor. Open floor plans create lighter, brighter, more communal living spaces – another mark of a more modern home.
Not all walls are load-bearing, and even those that are can often be opened partially. What was a door could become an open archway, or you could remove the wall but leave a support column.
Plan on at least a few hundred dollars for a structural engineer’s opinion, before getting crazy with the sledgehammer.
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9. Update the Windows
When you’re brainstorming how to increase a property’s value, it’s not always the big sexy things like new kitchens or flooring or smart home gadgets that make the difference.
Deteriorating or leaky windows can be a deal-breaker for both renters and prospective buyers. New windows not only improve the look of your property but also help lower utility bills. If you take the plunge, find ways of marketing just how much more energy-efficient your property is with its new windows. That could involve simply regurgitating the window manufacturer’s statistics, or running some back-of-the-napkin calculations to come up with your own savings quote.
Everyone prefers a greener home with lower utility bills, which means energy efficiency directly impacts property prices.
Don’t stop at energy efficiency in your window selections though. Windows can be expensive and style matters, so try to update the style without emptying your pockets. Start with basic research to find out which renovation designs and repairs will be worth the money and give you the most bang for your buck.
Save on installation costs by doing it yourself if you’re handy, or paying a friend or family member in the business. If you have to hire someone, make sure you negotiate with the contractor for the lowest possible price. Replacing and improving windows will also not only raise the property value but improve your homes marketability, for more offers and fewer days on the market.
But you don’t always have to replace the windows to update their look or increase their energy efficiency. Buy a window efficiency kit from Home Depot for $15, to reseal around the frame and window, and to add a layer of invisible film to the window panes to reduce leakage.
10. Make Your Property a Smart Home
Pick up two or three smart home gadgets and boom! Your boring old house is now a “smart home” with “state-of-the-art technology.” For a few hundred dollars, your property has ratcheted up in sex appeal, modernity and value.
Landlords can also see excellent returns on smart home updates with higher rents.
Start with a smart thermostat, so you can boast to prospective buyers or renters that it will save them hundreds of dollars a year on electricity and gas bills. Smart thermostats cost around $200.
Then consider smart door locks, smart smoke detectors or a smart security system. Smart door locks also have a functional use for landlords and property managers, who can grant temporary access to anyone: contractors, real estate agents, leasing agents, prospective tenants, etc.
Smart homes are increasingly becoming greener as well, so you can brag a little about your investment property’s green home chops when you advertise it.
11. Clean Up the Neighborhood
The problem isn’t always your property. Do the rednecks next door have a 1970s Camaro on blocks on the front yard? Or maybe they haven’t painted or landscaped since White Snake was cool?
Brush off your etiquette lessons, because you’ll need tact here. When you approach the neighbors, consider inviting them over for pizza and beer with you and the work crew at the end of a work day. Once they have a slice of pepperoni in one hand and a beer in the other, ask them “Want to see what we’re doing to the place?” They will of course say yes, so you can show them around the property with pride and point out all the exciting upgrades you’re making.
Now for the tricky part – the offer. Try something like this: “Hey these guys are wrapping up on Friday, and gave me a killer deal on this job. They actually still owe me a favor; want them to swing by your place to give you a quote? They won’t charge for the quote and I’ll make sure they give you the same pricing they gave me.”
Depending on how bad the neighbor’s property looks, you might even offer to just “roll it in” with your job. If you do offer to pay the bill though, be careful to take care of the neighbor’s pride. No one likes to feel like a charity case, so you either need to make it sound like it’s no trouble at all for the contractors to knock out the task, or propose some small favor in exchange. Even if it means making up a favor that actually won’t help you at all. A person’s pride is a prickly thing.
It might cost you $500 or $1,000 to clean up the junkyard next door, but if that’s all it takes to make the block look classy and upscale, it’s money well spent. Terrible eyesores next door can drag down property values by tens of thousands of dollars. Do what you need to do.
Keep an Eye on ROI
Property upgrades are all about return on investment. How does the cost compare to the impact on value? Most home renovations have negative ROI, so be careful not to fall into the trap of assuming that property upgrades will pay for themselves.
Also, don’t neglect to consider the important parts before trying to increase your property value:
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- Budget Planning: Allocation is key here. Which ones will increase the property value more?
- Cost of Improvements and Contractor and Labor Costs: The bottom line here is that your costs shouldn’t exceed the estimated property value increase. Otherwise, that’s just bad business.
- Timing of Improvements: Timing is everything when trying to increase property value. Make sure the improvements don’t interfere with cash flow operations like renting. It might be a good idea to make the changes during seasonal off-times.
- Financing Options: What options are available to you? Can you obtain them before you plan to start the improvements?
- Property Taxes: Increasing property value increases property taxes—no two ways to go about this. So, keep an eye on that.
- Insurance Premiums: Premiums might increase due to improvements, so consider those.
- Maintenance Costs: Remember, new stuff means new maintenance costs.
- Potential for Over-Improvement: There’s such a thing as “too much” improvement—and that’s when costs exceed potential returns.
- Implement tenant retention strategies: Tenants are the source of your income, so never neglect them in any potential improvement considerations. Ask what they want, maintain effective communication, and remember to offer the usual (fair pricing, prompt maintenance and repairs, providing online payment options to make their lives easier *cough cough*, ensure their safety, and more.)
Final Thoughts On How To Increase Property Value
Do research, talk to real estate agents and property managers, find out for yourself. A good listing agent will be able to give you an accurate estimate of how much value a given upgrade will add, in your neighborhood.
Perhaps most importantly, buy properties for less than they’re worth in the first place, so that you’re starting from a place of equity and not playing catch up!♦
What are your tales from boosting investment property profits? How have you raised the value to your property, home, or flip? Regale us with tales of conquest.
Awesome ideas! Thanks as always guys 🙂
Thanks Becca! Stay in touch with us, we always love hearing ideas, questions, suggestions, etc. from readers!
Great article. I own a cabinet installation and countertop installation business, and I definitely agree with everything in this article. Great read!
Thanks Rob!
Some great ideas in here. I love the emphasis on DIY, after all the whole point is to earn a return on the upgrades, right? My summer mission is to get more handy. Maybe I’ll even build a muscle or two in the process!
I’m not the handiest guy in the world either Gil. But as they say, aim for progress, not perfection. Anyone can get better at home improvement, it just takes practice. No one’s born as Tim the Tool Man Taylor!
I read tips by changing a door knob and lights will help too.
Love your articles btw…thanks
I’m keeping this to give to some of my clients as well as for some ideas for my own home. Thanks.
Glad to hear it was useful for you Gabe, and thanks for the comment!
oh man, #11! Ha… good luck trying to clean up someone else’s yard but you’re absolutely right! Buyers look at the whole picture, which means the neighborhood and that’s crucial to getting them to love the home. If the neighborhood is awful but the house is great, the buyer may offer less for the house.
Haha, yeah it’s tough when you have sloppy neighbors!
We keep our property nice in and out. We are surrounded by 3 not so well kept homes. The usual weeds, junk in the front and back yards. I discovered they are owned by the same person who actually lives in one of the dumps. I wrote a very professionally worded letter mentioning loss of resale, depressed rent income potential, etc. One day I was working outside at our property the owner of the the other properties comes over and tells me “the owner of this place is a real a-hole” not knowing I was the owner! I called him out on it. Upside is they are mowing and weedwacking. Still looks lousy but it’s improvement!
Aim for progress not perfection, right? Glad to hear they’re at least moving in the right direction!
All these 11 ideas are great. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for the kind words Sally!
Some great rehab ideas and tips, thanks!
Glad you found them helpful Magdalena!
I also think that it makes sense to go forward sustainability and improved home’s energy efficiency. This is what attracts buyers these days. Some of the sure ways to incorporate sustainbility in your home is to insulate homes properly, maintain HVAC systems as well as using modern high-efficient plumbing fitures like low-flow faucets, toilets and showerheads.
Certainly doesn’t hurt!
Yes. That’s a good suggestion. Upgrading the HVAC system to a new, more energy-efficient one can also be a good idea. When upgrading your HVAC system, look into appliances with a high SEER rating — these ones are more energy-efficient.
But please remember to check the new HVAC regulations for 2023. These changes are legally effective from January 1 this year.
Also if you are looking for some more ways to raise a house’s value ensure that the property’s plumbing and electrical systems are up to code and in good working condition to avoid potential issues during inspections.
A lesser-discussed way to boost your property’s value is by installing a whole-house water filtration system. This not only ensures clean, high-quality water throughout your home but also protects your plumbing from potential damage caused by sediment and minerals. Prospective buyers often appreciate the added health benefits and long-term savings on plumbing repairs.