What can I do to raise the value of my house???

Question

I recently bought a house for $244,000. I bought it in Chaska, MN (Number 8 place to live in the US). The house was built in 1990 and was one of the few first built in my neighborhood. It's also a corner lot property. At the end of this year or the middle of next year a brand new highway will be finished, which will be going right behind my house. Will that increase the value? What sorts of things can I do to fix up my house and make the value go up because I plan on selling the house within a year or two even though I just bought it in January??? The house does need all new windows and right now I have wood siding. Would Vinyl Siding be better suited for prptection of the house? Also I have a lot of trees in my back yard, which really gives you privacy. What sorts of landscaping can I do to work around those trees?

Answer 1

Hi,
Upgrades to your windows will help sell, but the biggest bang for your upgrade dollar would be a kitchen make over and bath make over. You don't have to go crazy, but they should have good grade cabinets, and surfaces. Two baths is pretty much a must have theses days. You didn't say how many bedrooms you have, but if you have two or more bedrooms, you will need at least two full baths. If you are going to put in new cabinets, you may want to check out Kitchen Kraft or Prestige. I also put in Zimbabwe Black Granite in our new kitchen. It cleans very easily and looks great with Maple cabinets, and stainless appliances. We also, put in new maple flooring. Our kitchen was 52K, but we went high end. You don't have to go that high, but it should look crisp and up to date. Good luck with you sale!

Answer 2

Vinyl siding is one of the best ways to increase the value in your house, because it is low maintenence. (I read that in an article on yahoo, but I can't find the link again-sorry!) Also tiling the floor is an easy way. It is simple to do, and with a little patience and not a ton of money, you can make your house look twice as expensive! As for the landscaping and the trees, I would pick two or three trees to put small raised beds around. Just get some patio brick and make a circle about a foot out from the tree, then make another circle on top of that one alternating the joints. You don't have to use mortar or anything. Line it with landscaping plastic, put in potting soil, and plant a few low flowers or shrubs. Good Luck!

Answer 3

The 'brand new highway' will actually devalue the market price of your house. Along with highways comes NOISE from vehicles and trucks. Not exactly something a homeowner looks for.

If your wood siding is in good condition, maintain it with paint/stain instead of replacing. You won't gain the cost of the vinyl siding in value appreciation. The same goes for the windows. Unless the windows are totally unserviceable, it will cost you more to replace them than will the value of your home increase.

Sad to say, being on a corner lot is no advantage either.

Concerning your trees and landscaping, grow as much as possible back there to shield as much of the coming highway noise as possible. The less a buyer can see and hear of that highway, the better off you will be.

Answer 4

As the real estate market softens, what can Americans do to still get the best price for their homes? According to the U.S. Census Bureau, with 1.2 million homes for sale in the first quarter of 2003, a 4% increase over the same quarter last year, the competition among sellers is stiff. So how do homeowners give their properties an edge?

One way is to increase the value of their home. In some cases, that could mean spending significant money to put in a swimming pool or tennis court, but there are also less expensive ways to make one's home more attractive--without jacking up the appraised value or property tax bill. A fresh coat of paint or a revarnished floor will go a long way toward impressing prospective buyers without having to take out a home improvement loan.

Homeowners may want to consult with their real estate agent or other experts when they put their home on the market. A home could be in mint condition--in the owner's eyes, at least--but owners may be surprised at what they hadn't thought about.

Marketers have all kinds of theories about which colors or scents put consumers in the mood to buy. In the case of home sales, cosmetic changes rather than major renovations can make a huge difference in the sales price.

The average cost to make a repair could cost the seller double during price negotiations if it's not attended to or first disclosed. For example, a leaky roof may cost $2,000 to repair, but if the leak is not fixed by the owner or is first discovered during an inspection, it could make a $4,000 difference in the final sales price.

Furthermore, if a home's appearance rubs brokers the wrong way, it may not get shown, and once a house lingers on the market for too long, it becomes stigmatized, decreasing the chances of its selling at the asking price.

When it comes to major remodeling jobs, the entire cost of renovations are rarely recouped in the sales price. For example, Remodeling magazine's annual cost versus value report, which looks at how much of the costs of remodeling projects are recouped in the sales price, found that on a national average, the most cost-effective remodeling jobs were bathroom additions and second-story additions. In both cases, home owners saw 94% of costs recouped.

More functional renovations, such as high-end window replacements and roof replacements, weren't money suckers, but in the end they didn't offer as significant returns.

Answer 5

If you are looking to make a lot of money off your house, you better fix it up soon and sell soon. Most likey the highway will decrease the value of your house. Replacing windows, landscaping, appliance, etc will increase the value of your house. Think about the things you look at and are important when buying a house.

Answer 6

Nothing.
If there is a highway going in behind the property,the value will drop as fast as a lead balloon.
Get it on the market ASAP and get rid of it.
Do NOT put any money into it.
DO clean it up, give the inside a fresh coat of paint and get rid of clutter.
Clean the windows, mow the lawn, and make the outside look presentable.
Leave any repairs for the new owner.

Any money you invest in it will be lost.
You have 2 major strikes against you.
Cut your losses and sell now.

Answer 7

If the highway is very close, it will probably devalue your home. You'd better sell quick.

Answer 8

Landscape does alot!