Updating Your Home With Less Money

Updating Your Home With Less Money

Whether your home is updated is often one of the many factors that determines what the price of your home should be.  This calculation is based on a comparison to other homes in your neighborhood (ie, the comparables).  Many home buyers are looking for homes that are updated.  If your home isn’t updated, these buyers may either skip your home because they don’t want to do these updates themselves, or they may start adding up the cost to update your home, and may not offer as much money if they do make an offer to buy.

white kitchen photo

Having said this, updating your home may be an expensive proposition.  Here are a few less expensive ways you may want to consider implementing some updates.  First, bathrooms and kitchens are the most important rooms in a house in terms of updating.  If your bathtub is old and/or overused, a simpler solution than ripping out and replacing your bathtub may be a tub re liner.  These are acrylic shells that are constructed and fitted specifically to the dimensions of your tub, and are installed directly over your tub, along with the installation of a new drain and overflow.  A less expensive option, but often less desirable, is to re glaze or refinish your tub.  In this method, the old porcelain glaze is stripped off with strong chemicals, and a finishing coat is applied.  A muriatic acid wash may also be a method to consider if your tub is porcelain and just has rust stains.

Cabinets are another area in which to consider updates.  By refinishing or re facing your kitchen and bathroom cabinets instead of replacing them entirely, you will save a lot of money.  If the interiors of your current cabinets are free of water damage and are solidly constructed, refinishing or re facing your cabinets will cost you less than half of what it would cost to replace them altogether.  With re facing, the doors and drawer fronts will be removed, and they can be replaced with any style or finish.  A finished wood veneer will be affixed to the cabinet sides, and new knobs and handles can finish the updated look.

If the style of your existing cabinets is relatively traditional or on trend, just refinishing your cabinet doors and drawers is an even less expensive option.  A professionally applied coat of paint (white and gray are popular choices, and are on trend) can brighten up and update your entire kitchen and bath in a matter of a few days.

Finally, consider simply painting the rooms in your home with neutral paint, as a simple and relatively inexpensive way to update your residence in preparation for sale.  Be sure to paint with primer first if you’re covering a dark color with a light color, to ensure that the end results look professional.  Whatever you choose to do with an eye toward updating your home, the results will be sure to help you maximize the final sale price of your home.