If you are trying to sell your house, you might be thinking about how to increase home value, but you might also not want to spend a lot of time or money on home improvement before selling. Luckily, there are plenty of quick and easy DIY projects that can help you to increase the selling value of your property. (And when we say quick and easy, we mean you don’t need any renovation experience. The easy DIY projects on this list are simple enough for beginners, and cost-effective enough for everyone!) Read on for 5 easy DIY projects that will help increase home value before selling.
1. Yardwork
Anyone with experience in real estate will tell you that the #1 easy DIY project to complete before listing your home is yardwork, which can provide a quick curb appeal boost for your property. Simply mow the lawn, trim any shrubs and trees, tidy up the planting beds, and remove dead plants, leaves, and weeds.
These small tasks can be completely free, or you can invest in supplies like fresh mulch, pine straw, or potted plants if you want a larger value increase. Either way, cleaning up your yard can drastically change the look of your property’s exterior and increase home value before selling.
Value Increase: 5% – 10%.
2. Fresh Paint
Our next recommendation is fresh interior paint, which can spruce up any living space. It is also a cost-effective and easy DIY project that any homeowner can manage on their own. Simply paint the walls, doors, and trim. And don’t overlook the last two—new door and trim paint can sometime have an even bigger effect than fresh wall paint. You can also repaint the ceiling if you think it’s necessary.
Repainting can make your home feel cleaner and fresher, but remember that it’s important to make sure that your paint job looks good. Fresh paint won’t matter if it looks messy! If you’re a beginner, take your time, and maybe check out some painting tutorials for extra tips and tricks. Also, stick to neutral wall colors. Bright or eye-catching colors can actually decrease property value because these colors are less marketable to potential buyers.
Value Increase: 2% – 5%.
3. Replace Doorknobs and Hinges
As long as you have a drill (or even just a screwdriver and a bit of patience), one easy DIY project that you can complete is replacing the doorknobs and hinges on your doors to increase home value. Doorknobs and hinges that are tarnished or covered with paint can make a door look old and dingy, and they can completely ruin the effect of a freshly painted door and trim. New hardware is a small detail can make a door look like new, freshen up your home’s interior, and give your property a sleeker finish.
Value increase: 1%.
4. New Light Fixtures
It also helps to update any outdated light fixtures throughout your home, such as brass fixtures or old fixtures that are in poor condition. These updates will make your home look fresher and more modern, which helps increase home value for potential buyers, and these updates may also brighten up dark spaces that do not receive natural light.
PRO TIP: One way to make this easy home improvement project simple AND thrifty is to look for bargain stores that sell fixtures and hardware for discounted prices. You can also look at big box stores online. There are a lot of cheaper fixtures that are are available online but not in the store.
Value Increase: 1% – 2%
5. Clean or Refinish Flooring
Our last recommendation is to clean or refinish old flooring. Dirty carpet, broken tile, or stained hardwood floors can make a house look dingy, so thorough cleaning is a must before listing your home. If the flooring cannot be cleaned, then you might consider replacing it with new flooring to match the overall style of the house.
But be careful! A poor flooring job can have to opposite of the desired effect: it can decrease the value of your house if not done properly. Badly done DIY flooring is actually one of the top projects to avoid when selling your house. However, you can easily invest in a professional to replace your flooring, which Homelight estimates to cost between $1,100-$3,800. Alternatively, you can take a chance and try to DIY this project—it will take work, patience, and care, but the payoff of well-done updated flooring is often worth the time and money spent.
Value increase: 5%-7%
Summary
Hopefully, this short-and-sweet guide has given you a few ideas to increase home value before selling your property. You don’t have to invest thousands of dollars into renovating your home before listing. Small, superficial details can provide the right finishing touch for any house on the market, and it can be done with a minimal amount of time and money spent if you find the right easy DIY projects for you.
If you’re looking to avoid DIY home improvement and want to sell your property fast with no additional work, we can help. We Buy Houses In West Georgia purchases homes as-is in cash—so no repairs and no cleaning are necessary! If you’re interested, we invite you to learn more about how our process works, or to fill out the form below to get started on your no-obligation cash offer. We would love to work with you!