By: Robert Jansons
Adding Value to your House
Tags: Increasing House Value, Big and Small Home Improvement Ideas, Real Estate
What can I do to ADD VALUE to my house?
If you are like Donald Trump, you may think that simply adding more photos of yourself to the walls around your home will inherently increase its value. Let’s get real, and see what we can do to help you get more out of your house with some changes! Maybe you want to add value to your house because you are thinking of selling or maybe you just want to make some changes to make your house better in your eyes. Either way, over the long run, the following ideas are bound to help you out!
- Hey, I have a floor. What can I do to it other than walk on it?
What? I can take out that beautiful white lino with the green diamonds and actually put in a different floor? Who’d have thought it? Don’t underestimate the impact a new floor can have on your house. A beautiful hardwood or engineered hardwood can make all the difference if you go to sell. Heck, there are some amazing options in laminate flooring that will make that indoor/outdoor carpet you laid look pretty poor.
- A Quonset is for the farm you hayseed….build a garage!
One of the few things you can guarantee to get value out of in Calgary is a garage! You can choose to take a blow dryer out to defrost the car windows each morning or you can simply park indoors.
- But, I thought a matching fuzzy toilet seat cover and shower mat would be enough, no?
You don’t need to build something that makes the Spa at the Banff Springs Fairmont seem pedestrian, but you should do some updates. This can be a “sky’s the limit” kind of expense or with some careful shopping around, you can turn your 1970’s disaster into something Martha Stewart might even like (she’ll probably never use your toilet, but at least you can get her “ok”).
- Sometimes, it’s the little things…
Have you ever looked at the knobs and the pulls on your drawers and doors and thought, “I hope broken and chipped white enamel hardware comes back into style some day”? These can all be changed out to give a fresher look. Don’t overlook things like faucets, taps and even toilets. That faucet where the water comes out of a gold goose’s mouth may seem pretty high end in a “Beverly Hillbilly’s” sort of way, but just a tip that you might want to relook at those too.
- Other times, it’s the big things!
Before you go screaming off into the sunset about replacing your kitchen, give it some serious thought. Buyer’s all clamor for the same thing. And, that happens to be a nice kitchen. The fluorescent bulb, sunshine ceiling that all retirees in Florida have in their retirement villas, just won’t cut it with today’s buyers. There are lots of options out there to make your nightmare of a kitchen a bit dreamier and a lot less Freddy Krugerish. Again, do your research and just don’t assume it will cost you an arm and a leg.
- I’ve always wanted to be a slumlord to my children…
While the idea of putting a suite in your house (or better, one over the garage if able) might not enter your mind, it’s a real one to consider. Right up front, it would pay you monthly revenue and that’s a pretty good thing! Now you just have to figure what’s the right amount of rent to charge your child so that they still stay at home, bake cookies and cut the grass every now and again vs going out and renting somewhere else!
