To increase home value, it usually takes some elbow grease and a little money. When you work with us to buy a home, you’ll actually receive money you can put toward improving the value of your new home. On average, heroes save over $2,400 when they buy a home with us, and some save even more. The savings are received on real estate, mortgage, title and inspection services provided by Homes for Heroes specialists. After closing on your new house, Homes for Heroes will mail you a check for the amount saved, and you can use it anyway you want.
One option might be to use your Hero Rewards savings to update your new home. This is how you can increase home value. Consider it a wise investment that also makes your home more like you want it. You don’t have to do a full-blown remodel; you’d be surprised by what you can do on a budget. Not sure what sorts of improvements to make that add value? Here are some tips:
Ask Your Real Estate Agent for Ideas
They’re the pros and have seen, firsthand, which improvements raise the value of a home and which are just cosmetic. Your real estate specialist is an expert in the home you’ve just purchased and can give you specific ideas. They also have a keen eye for things buyers want or prefer. Use their feedback to make a list of must-haves, nice-to-haves, and dreams. Start small and work within your budget, knowing the bigger-ticket items can wait.
Kitchen Updates Increase Home Value the Most
Our real estate specialists say the kitchen reigns supreme as the No. 1 place to add value to your home, so if you can only do one room, start there. As with the bathroom, you don’t have to do a full remodel to update and freshen the heart of your home. If your appliances are old, it’s time to replace them. But if not, there are a lot of other updates you can try. One of the top tricks is replace drawer pulls and handles with sleek new designs. You’d be surprised by how much that alone changes the look of the room. Also, consider your faucet. Nowadays, kitchen faucets look more like works of art than the workhorses they really are and can dramatically change the feel of your kitchen. Replacing cabinets is a big undertaking, but refacing them can be done fairly easily, and a new countertop will up your kitchen’s game dramatically.
Landscaping
The easiest, and one of the most affordable ways to increase home value in the first year is to improve your landscaping. This is especially true if you invest in labor-saving tools like this mini excavator brush cutter which will make yard work quicker and easier on your back. Pull those overgrown bushes and replace them with young native shrubs. Replace annual plants and flowers with perennials to help keep your yearly yard work to a minimum. Trim the hedges, add life and color around your home, even consider planting a native tree in a strategic location where you want shade. Not only will a beautifully landscaped yard increase your home’s value, it will increase your overall enjoyment of your new home.
Create an Outdoor “Room”
Installing a deck or patio in your backyard will increase your home’s footprint with outdoor living space. Add some patio furniture, a grill, some outdoor lighting and a heat source like a chimney or a fire pit and you’ve got another room you can use at least three season of the year.
Update the Bathroom
You don’t have to go for an all-out remodel. New flooring, paint or wallpaper and a new mirror with modern lighting can go a long way toward updating one of the most used rooms in your home. Fix up the tub and/or shower by replacing old fixtures or faucets, replacing the grout, tile and re-caulking to give it a refreshing, new feel.
Ditch All Dated Things
There may be times when you say, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” but there may be things in your new home that you feel must go. Is there a popcorn ceiling? Would your old-school appliances look good in the house your parents first purchased back in the day? Is the carpet too thick, the wrong color, or worn down from the previous owner? If your new home is full of time-worn trends, it might be time to update with a fresh, new look.
Eye Your Floors
If your carpet is worn or dated, consider pulling it up and going with hardwood floors instead. Homes with hardwood floors tend to sell faster and for more money than homes with wall-to-wall carpeting.
At Homes for Heroes, we would love to hear your before and after story of how you made the most of your Hero Rewards savings. Please email your story to support@homesforheroes.com, and be sure to include photos or video that tell the “before” and “after” story of your experience. We would be grateful to know how the savings served you.
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