Home Improvement: Adding value to your house before you sell

A little home improvement before listing your house can help you make more money. By updating your home, you can increase its resale potential and add to its value.

• Think simple. If a sale is in the imminent future, stick to simple changes. You obviously don’t want construction crews working in your house for several months prior to listing. Instead, look around your house for what can be most easily updated through simple home improvement.

• Avoid accruing debt. Again, if you plan to list soon, it is not wise to acquire debt to make your home improvement updates. A home improvement that requires financing may make a big difference in your home, but it can be very difficult to recoup the cost of the home improvement loan when you sell.

• Make cosmetic changes. The easiest and simplest home improvements are cosmetic changes. Painting, changing hardware, and replacing faucets are all examples of economical updates you can do yourself. Painting is, perhaps, the best choice. It can brighten a room immensely, but doesn’t cost much.

• Update your furniture. If you plan to move soon, it can be painful to make several home improvements for the next owners of your house. Instead, a great way to update your home is to get new furniture. That way, you can improve the look of your home, but you also get to take the furniture with you when you move. New furniture is a home improvement that travels.

• Consider big changes to the kitchen or bath. If, however, you want to update your home but are not considering moving for a few years, then home improvements to the kitchen or bath make the most sense. Renovating these two areas pays off the most at resale. Keep in mind, though, that you don’t want to overextend yourself if you know that moving is inevitable.

When considering home improvements, be aware of your timeline for selling your house. The closer your listing date, the less money you may want to put into home improvements. You want home improvements to be cost effective.