A home that looks really good and comfortable is something that everyone aspires to achieve.  Keeping it well-maintained, though, can be quite financially difficult., especially when we want to make our home always feel like new.

Here are some easy home improvements and upgrades to keep your house looking good and new without breaking the bank, especially if you plan to sell your house in the near future.

1. Repaint areas of your home.  One of the cheapest, easiest things you can do is paint.  Painting the interior of your home helps eliminate dirt, marks, or stains from your walls, thereby giving it a fresh feel and appearance.  To help improve the value of your home, repainting the exterior would also be a good idea.

2. Replace bath hardware.  Giving your outdated bathrooms a makeover need not cost a lot.  Simply replacing a shower faucet or changing the cabinet handles can do wonders in transforming your bathrooms into a more elegant or modern look.

3. Enhance your home’s indoor and outdoor lighting.  Swapping all the old light bulbs for LED lights will greatly impact your home’s energy efficiency and illumination.  Changing the actual fixtures can also be a relatively inexpensive replacement.

4. Add storage areas.  Every home needs a place where we can keep and put away items, especially those that are seasonal like holiday decorations.  Storage areas can be shelves, a closet under the stairs, or even seats beside a window.

5. Revitalize Flooring.  Brand new flooring is one of the more expensive upgrades, especially if you’ve got a large area to cover.  That’s why we prepared a few less costly alternatives.  One, you may install a carpet on the floor or change the carpet, if there already is.  Another is considering the use of refinishing hardwood or reglazing tile, which could cost a fraction of the cost of a new installation.  Painting the floor a new color or pattern is also another useful tip.

6. Update cabinets.  New cabinets can be quite pricey so if that’s not within your budget, you could tweak your existing cabinets instead of replacing them entirely.  You’d be surprised how something as simple as switching the cabinet hardware can modernize the whole kitchen.  If they need more of an overhaul, you may want to paint your kitchen cabinets a new shade.

7. Improve Landscaping.  Making simple improvements, such as installing landscape lighting, pressure washing the walkways, planting flowers, adding fresh mulch, and building a firepit can do wonders to boost your yard’s appearance.  In the spring, start planting flowers in prominent areas of your house to stand out from the street.  Pruning trees and shrubs is also the type of  maintenance that can turn a yard from wild to manicured and up the value of your home.

“Hi. I’m looking at a house together with my husband. It’s a very nice-sized home and it’s affordable. The only thing that bothers my husband is it has an extension in the first and second floor, so it has a very large den that I’ve always wanted. It also has an extra large bedroom on the second floor with a bathroom. It does not have any violations, but the owners never took a permit on the home. Do you see any issues with this home?”

  • From a mortgage banker’s perspective, it is fine as long as there are no violations. Double check to make sure that there is a certificate of occupancy. SOME banks require this in order to close.
  • Aryeh Brecher, FM Home Loans

——————–

***FUN FACT ***

Brooklyn has 30 miles of shoreline.  Visitors to the city are often surprised to find there are actually nice beaches in and around the borough.