l homes need a little updating, whether it’s purely a cosmetic coat of paint or an entire overhaul of design that requires a little renovation.
Giving your house some much-needed upgrades helps modernize it, while adding to its value upon resale. For example, updating your kitchen or adding square footage to a home can be very beneficial to up your overall selling price of a home, especially when you work with the hire an experienced realtor in Toronto to help sell.
However, not all home renovations are wise if you’re strictly looking at it from a resale perspective; some barely cover the cost of the investment! If you’re trying to decide which home reno’s get you the best bang for your buck, here are a few options.
Kitchen Upgrades
As previously mentioned, the kitchen is one of the most crucial rooms in the house and is often considered the heart of the home. The kitchen serves not only as a source of our family meals but also as a workspace and gathering space for friends and loved ones.
As the kitchen needs to wear many hats, those looking to buy a home look for things like functional workspaces, such as counter space, storage space, and floor plan of the room.
A mistake many people make when flipping a kitchen for pure resale is overdoing it with expensive items like marble countertops and top-of-the-line appliances. Better use of your money is to ensure all appliances are functional and upgrade non-functioning ones to newer mid-range models.
New kitchen cupboards can also eat up a huge chunk of your budget, so if yours are in functional condition, a more cost-efficient way to upgrade them to look new is by applying new paint and swapping out their hardware.
Open Your Floor Plan
You’ve probably heard about people looking for an open concept on nearly every home renovation show, and for a good reason! Open concepts allow for more natural light, create a more spacious and inviting atmosphere, and allow you to maintain a conversation with those in multiple rooms of the house. Those with children especially may appreciate open concept designs as a way to keep an eye on the little ones while managing tasks in a different room.
If you have an older home, there’s a good chance many of your rooms, like the kitchen or living room, are closed off by at least a partial dividing wall. Knocking this wall out is a great way to check off more boxes on a potential home buyer’s wish list. Just be wary of load-bearing walls and other structural support walls, as removing these and finding alternative methods of support can become very costly.
Brighten your Lighting
Lighting in a home is incredibly important to prospective buyers, especially if natural light is in shorter supply in your home or if you have home viewings scheduled in the evening time.
While the cost of upgrading fixtures can widely vary, if your sources of overhead lighting are those with retro paper lampshades, you may definitely be due for some upgrading. When upgrading your lighting, consider options like smart technology and energy-efficient bulbs.
Energy-efficient lighting is not only vibrant and bright, but it also is better for a home’s energy footprint and overall utility bills.
