There are lots of good deals you can find in foreclosed listings, or in just an ordinary real estate listing. People often did not know that doing key home repairs and improvements increase the value of your home the moment you decide to sell it. Those that badly need cash need to sell their house fast in its current state, which depreciates the value of the asset. Real estate investors look at it as an opportunity to earn, especially those who are into house flipping. All they need is a minor house repair then selling it again, this time with an appreciated value. I’m sure you don’t want to experience the same fate the moment you decided to sell your house.
G. Brian Davis wrote an article in LendingHome about the most important home repair and improvements that add more value to your home. Read the article below to find out more.
What Home Improvements Add The Most Value For Real Estate Investors?
Image Source: LendingHome
Flipping houses isn’t about making them as beautiful or fashionable as they can possibly be. It’s about making the highest return you can possibly earn on each individual home.
Sure, your bridge loan might cover the renovation costs, but “financed” is not the same as “free.” Part of learning how to flip a house is gaining efficiency: how to maximally improve home values on a minimal renovation budget.
Before you remove a single nail, look at property values in the neighborhood, the recent sale prices of comparable homes, and how long they sat on the market. Online resources like Zillow and Trulia are free and easy places to start, but also work with a Realtor intimately familiar with the neighborhood before renovating to help you decide the best home improvements for resale value in your market.
We asked LendingHome’s Valuations department what home improvements add the most value and why. Based on what they see in the market, here are the seven best home improvements to increase home value for projects both large and small.
Update or renovate the kitchen for best value
There’s a reason why kitchens are the first place many investors look when evaluating how to increase home values. People have a visceral connection with kitchens.
Once hidden from houseguests as a purely functional room, kitchens have evolved to become central gathering places. And unlike a living room, which changes little over the decades beyond paint and flooring, kitchens wear their age openly.
Full Renovation: Does your fixer upper need a brand-new kitchen from scratch, or can you update the existing bones?
If you go for a full renovation and remove all the existing cabinetry and fixtures, pause to ask whether the existing floor plan is as modern or efficient as it could be. Could there be a better return on investment if you added an island, or perhaps arranged the dishwasher? Could the oven, sink and refrigerator be more conveniently located?
Before splurging on granite or marble counters, consider quartz or new synthetic stones. They can be more budget friendly, hardier, and come in a wider range of colors.
Selective Updates: Don’t assume that renovating the kitchen will inherently deliver high ROI. Sometimes doing less delivers more bang for your budget. Perhaps the cabinetry and countertops are in good shape, and only the appliances are dated. Stainless steel remains in vogue despite several decades of favor. But if you want to push the style envelope, consider the new darker stainless steel look.
When possible, opt for energy efficient appliances to add even more value, and look for “provable” claims about how much more efficient the new appliances are than their peers.
If the cabinets look a bit dated, but are sound otherwise, a new coat of paint can give the kitchen a fresh feel. Consider swapping in stylish new knobs, handles, and other hardware for an instant cabinet makeover. Click here to read the rest of this post…
It doesn’t have to be a full renovation, but you need to take into considerations the time and the cost of the renovation. Ideally, you don’t need to spend too much for home repairs and renovations because remember you are selling the house. Incurring another cost beyond the ideal should not be part of the decision.
Mady Dahlstrom published an interesting article at US News do-it-yourself house repair projects that increase your home’s value. Doing it your own can save you repair costs.
10 DIY Projects That Add Value to Your Home
Image Courtesy of U.S. News
Whether you’re looking to sell your home down the road or you’re getting ready to put your home on the market this month, there are many home improvements you can do on your own to add value to your home. A well-informed homeowner will keep track of all remodels or updates over the years, while being aware of the projects that can provide the best return on investment in the future.
Home improvement costs can add up quickly, but maximizing your home’s value by making improvements, adding curb appeal and keeping up with your neighbors can be beneficial when selling your home.
The average return at resale for home improvement projects is 64.4 percent of a project’s cost if the home is sold within a year, according to Remodeling Magazine’s 2016 annual Cost vs. Value Report. With increasing home prices and larger, more expensive projects on the rise, here are a few do-it-yourself projects you can check off your list for cheap, prior to sale.
Keep it clean. First impressions count when selling your home. Make the interior of your home shine from floor to ceiling by taking the time to spruce up your space. Pick up personal items and store them neatly away. Wipe down counters, baseboards and all areas inside and outside of the house. Wipe off smudge marks on all windows, doors, and mirrors. Deep cleaning and decluttering your home is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to keep your home looking its best while getting ready to sell.
Add lighting. Brighten up your home without breaking the bank by simply opening windows, cleaning skylights and removing outdated curtains that may be blocking natural light. Have old lighting fixtures hanging from your ceiling? Get rid of any eyesores by updating your lighting with an eye-catching chandelier or a modern ceiling fan. Read the entire article here…
If you’re selling your home fast or planning to put it in the listing market, you need to do some home repairs, either minor or major. However, doing it your own can save you a lot of money than paying an expert to do the job. Investors on the other hand, typically don’t have the time to do the repairs themselves, hence they need to make sure they’ll earn enough profit at least to cover the repair expenses.
For real estate investors, you need to weigh in your options, and this article by James Kimmons in The Balance could help you decide if fixing a home is actually a good investment.
Find out If Fixing a Home Is a Good Investment
Real estate investing often involves flipping a property that is purchased in poor condition and then repaired and/or remodeled to bring it to sale at a profitable price. There are a number of very popular TV “reality” shows that focus on fix-and-flip investors. They follow a project from the selection of a property through the rehab process.
Home Repair Estimating
Home repair estimating is a valuable skill for the real estate investor. You can bring in experts, and it’s often a good idea. But continually calling on tradespeople to accompany you to properties that you later decide are not for you can result in their resistance to such help in the future. Having the knowledge and tools to at least determine the basic feasibility of an investment before calling in skilled help can be much more efficient.
There are also a number of useful websites that are primarily focused on helping homeowners to estimate remodel or major project costs using licensed contractors. Of course, you do not want to pay retail for your projects, so you’ll need to discount the estimates. However, they can be a great tool to get a quick idea of whether a home’s rehab will throw it out of the profitable territory. Here are some of those sites:
Real estate investing often involves flipping a property that is purchased in poor condition and then repaired and/or remodeled to bring it to sale at a profitable price. There are a number of very popular TV “reality” shows that focus on fix-and-flip investors. They follow a project from the selection of a property through the rehab process.
Home Repair Estimating
Home repair estimating is a valuable skill for the real estate investor. You can bring in experts, and it’s often a good idea. But continually calling on tradespeople to accompany you to properties that you later decide are not for you can result in their resistance to such help in the future. Having the knowledge and tools to at least determine the basic feasibility of an investment before calling in skilled help can be much more efficient.
There are also a number of useful websites that are primarily focused on helping homeowners to estimate remodel or major project costs using licensed contractors. Of course, you do not want to pay retail for your projects, so you’ll need to discount the estimates. However, they can be a great tool to get a quick idea of whether a home’s rehab will throw it out of the profitable territory. Here are some of those sites:
A thorough listing of defects in a walk-through followed by a quick estimate from these sites can give you an idea of whether you want to do more research or move on to another property. Here is some home repair estimating tips.
Err on the High Side
Use repair estimation resources that base their time and material costs on quality licensed contractors that guarantee their work. If you’re using a national guide, such as those in the links at the end of this article, check it against local pricing. If it’s a bit high, that’s a good thing to protect you from errors or things you might overlook. If it’s a bit low for your area, then adjust accordingly.
Contractor Relationships
If you’re a frequent fix-and-flip investor, you’ll build relationships with general and subcontractors. Once they know they can get regular work from you, they’ll be happy to go out to a house with you and come back with accurate estimates of what the costs should be to get the job done and the home sold at a profit.
There are various ways in which you can work with contractors. You can shop and buy the materials and pay them only for labor. Or, you can give them a material budget and quality specifications and let them select materials for your approval that fall inside your budget. Or, you can let them buy and mark up materials as a part of their hard job bid. See full post here…
The general rule is that house for sale depreciates its value if there are lots of repairs that need to be done, and appreciate its value the more pristine its current state is. House flippers as much as possible don’t have to spend too much for house repairs. For home sellers, complete at least the most important home improvement tips to increase your home’s value.
When you’re done with the home repairs and ready to list your property in the real estate market, we at Dependable Homebuyers are ready to help you sell your house fast. Visit our website https://www.dependablehomebuyers.com to get started.
Dependable Homebuyers
1402 Belt St, Baltimore, MD 21230
(443) 266-6247
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