Has the thought of selling your home started to float around in the back of your mind? If so, you might be wondering what upgrades might help you get the best results. The best time to consider renovations is before your listing hits the market.
The more time you have to prepare and plan, the more seamless the whole process will be. If a potential sale is a couple of years into the future, it’s still worth thinking about.
Keeping the value of your house in mind can guide your entire strategy, whether you’re selling 10 years or 6 months from now.
Planning for When
If selling sooner rather than later, your upgrades should reflect current trends in home decor. Just like the clothing industry, style trends come and go. If you’re part of an older generation, you may remember when floral wallpaper patterns were considered hip and fashionable!
Try that today, and your home will instantly appear dated and out of style. Buyers might even walk away, unable to imagine themselves living there. Of course, what falls out of favour can also become fashionable again, like conversation pits in upscale homes.
These are things to keep in mind if you plan to list your home within the next few months. Some trendy updates will cost very little and help you earn more. Others may not be worth your while. Every buyer has a different sense of style, and what appeals to one is a turnoff to another.
If there’s no definitive date in mind for when you sell your home, you can be a little more relaxed with your decor. The further away you plan to sell, the less you’ll focus on what a buyer might want in favour of your own preferences. All the same, it’s a good idea to keep the resale value at the back of your consciousness. Focusing primarily on timeless styles that won’t need constant updating will make your job of preparing your home much faster and less expensive when the time arrives.
Do you want to know more about how to make the most of your sale in any market? The posts below will give you some ideas:
- Can You Earn More Money By Staging Your Home?
- Advice For Seniors Selling Their Family Home
- Why Working with a Local Etobicoke Realtor® is More Critical than Ever
Your Personal Satisfaction: Priceless
There are two reasons to renovate your home. Those of us who work in the real estate industry may focus entirely on the first: to increase the dollar amount of your sale. However, the second reason to renovate goes far beyond money; rather, it’s about improving your lifestyle and increasing your joy of living in your house.
Take adding a swimming pool or a luxury new swim spa, for instance. Study after study shows that these do not add resale value to most properties. But if they bring years of joy to you and your family, how can you put a dollar value on them?
Other changes may detract from the monetary value in the market, but are easy enough to revert back. Think of unusual coloured paint or graffiti on the walls. You can add whatever you want that makes you happy. When the time comes to sell, it’s easy enough to paint over with the Pantone Colour of the Year.
Timeless doesn’t necessarily mean eternal, but there are certain updates where you can be reasonably sure that you won’t have to completely redo your home from top to bottom every couple of years. Longstanding trends now often feature open-concept layouts, quartzite counters, and organic and natural finishes.
Sustainability Is the Future
You may balk at the idea of a home that talks to you or a fridge that automatically compiles your grocery list. But to a younger buyer, technology and innovation is the way of the future.
Why not meet them halfway by adding a smart thermostat? It’s a fairly simple and inexpensive upgrade that can give your house an added edge in a tight market. When your ambient temperature becomes even more comfortable as your utility bills decrease, you may even fall in love with this new technology yourself!
Buyers from younger generations also place a high priority on sustainability and reducing our carbon footprint. This is where features like solar panels and energy-efficient appliances may have an impact.
It’s also why you see more and more car charging stations popping up all over Etobicoke. Though not mainstream yet, they could soon become so. Being mindful of these trends can help you add value to your house while enhancing your lifestyle today.
If you need help deciding what upgrades will give you the best bang for your buck, a local real estate agent can guide you. In addition, they will be able to refer you to professionals and contractors you can trust to perform high-quality work.
Are you getting ready to begin the downsizing process? The posts below are a great place to begin your research:
- How Seniors Can Navigate an Ever-Changing Real Estate Market
- Why Work with an SRES® Agent as a Senior?
- Essential Decisions to Make Before You Downsize
Putting a Dollar Value on Upgrades
When you have no immediate plans to sell, you may not be primarily concerned about the value of your house, at least on paper. However, you still want to ensure that it is well-kept and maintained.
Keeping your home up to date can help you save money and headaches before things break down.
Pay today or pay more tomorrow is a common philosophy when it comes making minor repairs before they become major problems.
In addition, the monetary value can come into play if you ever need to borrow against your equity to fund an investment, return to school, or cover your child’s education. The more your house is worth, the greater your purchasing power, even without the “For Sale” sign.
If you ever needed a significant amount of money for any reason, you can take out a home equity loan or apply for a home equity line of credit (HELOC). Both options can give you access to cash, but a word of caution is in order. If you default on your payments, the lender may begin the foreclosure process on your home. This risk is small, but it’s essential to borrow for the right reasons while ensuring you have the means to repay the loan.
What Adds Value Specific to Etobicoke
Many cities in Canada are experiencing a shortage in available housing, both available to buy or to rent. This is especially true in Toronto and Etobicoke.
Adding living space offers massive appeal to buyers, especially if there is a secondary suite they can rent out to help cover the costs of the home. Rentals are in exceptionally high demand near schools and other amenities, making homes with income potential even more valuable.
If your house has a finished basement or a well-insulated attic, building a separate living space may be a financially worthy investment. Before hiring a contractor, be sure to sit down with a financial expert to run a profit and cost analysis. Working with a real estate team with investment experience can also help you avoid hidden pitfalls when purchasing a potential income property.
Are you selling your home to buy a new one? Here is some related reading you may enjoy:
- How To Make Your Home Purchase More Affordable
- How To Tell If Your Dream Home Is A Money Pit Or A Worthwhile Investment
Financing Your Project
Renovations can add significant tangible value to your home, but they can also be expensive. Where will the money come from if you’re not one of the lucky few with extra funds sitting around in a bank account? For that, we look to your house itself. More specifically, the equity you have built in your house.
Imagine you purchased a property 10 years ago for $450,000, and it is now worth $900,000. Your net worth has essentially doubled, not including what you have already paid down on your mortgage.
This increased equity translates into a significant amount of buying power, and you don’t have to sell your home to take advantage of it.
The simplest way to access these funds is through a home equity loan or HELOC, as we mentioned before. While you can borrow these funds for any reason, it is highly recommended that you only do so when investing in something that will pay off in the future, like high-value renovations.
If you borrow $10,000 and increase the value of your home by $20,000 or more, your equity has grown even more. In time, you will continue to build equity as real estate rises in value across the board.
When the Time Comes to Sell
Typically, there’s a mad scramble to get a house ready for the market once the owner decides to sell. Those who have been in the home for many years are often caught off guard.
Getting the house ready to show to potential buyers is one of the more stressful and expensive aspects of the selling process. However, with regular maintenance, you are in a better position to move past these obstacles.
From there, your local real estate expert can guide you through the steps of selling in a fast-changing market.
- They will help you determine a competitive price point that attracts the attention of buyers without minimizing the value of your home.
- Effective staging of a well-maintained home captures buyer interest, making them fall in love at first sight. If other homes in your area are not staged, that gives you a powerful advantage.
- Generating maximum interest and excitement for your listing through a series of targeted advertising campaigns, online and offline, will expand your outreach to the widest pool of potential buyers.
With expert guidance and a solid strategy in place, you’re ready for a seamless and successful sale.
Do you want more advice about the Etobicoke market or what upgrades add the most value? We are happy to answer all your questions, big and small. Reach out today to 416-450-5900 or email contact@thompsonsells.com for more information.
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