7 Ways to Boost Your Home’s Value

If you’re like most homeowners, your house is more than just a place to call home—it’s also your biggest asset. As such, it just makes good financial sense to invest in your home with regular upgrades and remodeling projects.

What many new homeowners fail to realize is that not all home improvement projects are created equal. If you’re already neck-deep in flooring options for your luxury bathroom or kitchen remodel, you might want to take a step back and ask yourself which projects are going to give you the best bang for your buck.

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In addition to helping you build equity, increasing your home’s value with home improvement projects can also help you catch the highest offer when it comes time to sell. Besides, knowing which projects will boost your home’s value the most can be a great tie-breaker when you’re trying to decide between two potential home upgrades!

With that in mind, read on to discover some of the best things you can do to increase your home’s value and get the greatest return on investment:

  1. Don’t Underestimate Curb Appeal

Who wouldn’t be drawn to a home with fresh blooms, healthy trees, and a meticulous lawn? While you shouldn’t expect to recoup 100 percent of your costs, creating a beautiful paver pathway and planting a few beautiful trees can significantly increase your home’s value and boost its curb appeal.

When it comes time to sell your home, a well-landscaped yard will make a great first impression on potential buyers. In addition to adding lush foliage, consider boosting your home’s curb appeal by replacing your garage door. According to Remodeling magazine’s 2019 Cost vs. Value report, homeowners can expect to recoup 97.5 percent of the costs on a garage door replacement.

  1. Kitchen Is King

If you’ve watched enough HGTV, then you know that kitchens can make or break a sale. Kitchens are a high traffic area that will get used multiple times a day, and potential homebuyers don’t want to go through the hassle of a kitchen remodel.

By doing a kitchen remodel for them, you can increase the value of your home while showing off a brand-new kitchen to your guests. However, there is a small catch: Minor kitchen remodels usually fetch a better ROI compared to major kitchen remodels. According to the 2019 Cost vs. Value report, minor kitchen remodels allow homeowners to recoup 80.5 percent of costs, while major kitchen remodels only recoup 62.1 percent.

Rather than go all-out with your kitchen remodel, stick to minor upgrades such as updating your kitchen hardware, resurfacing the cabinets and adding an attractive backsplash. You can also upgrade your kitchen by swapping outdated flooring for new wood-looking floors.

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  1. Add a Deck

If you’re wondering which home improvement project you should tackle next, a wood deck should be high on the list. Homeowners can expect to recoup around 80 percent of their costs by building a wood deck in their backyard.

By building a new deck, you can create the ideal outdoor living space to relax, entertain guests, or grill up a tasty meal. It’s also a relatively easy DIY project to complete if you’re using deck tiles to revamp your space. Designed with interlocking tiles, this type of decking is both a breeze to install and easy to maintain.

  1. Paint Your Interior

Looking for a quick home improvement win? Paint your home in contemporary, neutral colors (think grays, whites, and beiges). Neutral colors make it easy for potential buyers to picture themselves living in the space, increasing the likelihood of a sale.

Besides, painting your interior is often an inexpensive and easy DIY project that any homeowner can do. Not including the ceilings, painting a 10 x 12 room can range anywhere from $380 to $790, according to HomeAdvisor, and this can be knocked out in a single weekend.

  1. Rethink Your Floor Design

Open floor plans can completely change the look and feel of a space. They’re all the rage lately, but is an open floor plan a good financial decision?

Although the true ROI of an open floor design can be difficult to pin down, proponents argue that it improves the space for entertainment and communication purposes, which many prospective homebuyers are searching for in a home. Knocking down a wall or two could significantly increase your ROI by anywhere from 50-60 percent, but only if you don’t need to bother with rewiring or load-bearing beams.

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  1. Modify Your Bathroom

Bathrooms have far evolved from being purely functional. Today, people dream of Pinterest-worthy bathrooms that give them a spa-like feeling. We’re talking under-mount sinks, marble countertops, and stone-surround tile in the shower.

While a mid-range bathroom remodel can provide you with almost 70 percent of recouped costs, be careful to avoid going all out to create the ultimate spa experience. Flashy renovations that don’t align with your neighborhood could price out certain buyers and make your home less likely to sell.

  1. Integrate Smart Technology

Millennials get a lot of flak for living with their parents longer and holding off on buying homes, but make no mistake—they’re out there hunting for homes, and many are specifically interested in homes with smart technology.

Smart home technology that takes all the guesswork out of temperature control, door locks, sprinkler systems, and more are especially attractive to younger buyers. Such customizable technologies also save energy and money, both of which are important to millennials. Consider adding these to your home not only to increase your home value but also to enjoy the technology that can make your home life easier!

Small Improvements Add Up

Let’s face it. Home improvement projects can be extremely daunting. Just remember that you don’t need to do everything at once! Small improvements such as painting a room or replacing the hardware on your kitchen cabinets can add up over time and save you money in the end. Once you have a few smaller projects under your belt, you’ll have more confidence to finally tackle that new flooring installation or complete bathroom remodel.

 

About PropertyZar

PropertyZar is a real estate technology company specifically in the web-based property management software for owners and professional property managers. Read more Top Property Management Blogs. Learn more www.PropertyZar.com

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PropertyZar – Dealing With Bad Tenants

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If you have been a landlord or property manager for any amount of time, you have experienced both good and bad tenants. We wish that all tenants would be great, but the fact is some are not.

Warning Signs of Bad Tenants

First, to help minimize the chances of getting a bad tenant, property owners and managers should always run the tenant background screening that is available in most online property management software. In addition to that, be sure to follow up with checking references, past landlords and employers. This is not a guarantee, but it will help in the weeding out process. Here are some indicators that you are probably aware of:

  • Difficult attitude and often threats or talk about lawsuits
  • Regularly delinquent
  • Leaves in the middle of the night
  • Leaves the property in a mess

It’s unfortunate that these people exist but you can be better position to handle these types of tenant behaviors.

Attitude and Threats of Lawsuits

Make sure you understand the lease completely. These types of tenants can be a real pain to deal with. Understand the Fair Housing Laws and the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Document everything along with the log of all communications. Have policies and procedures in place should they be needed. In addition to all this, your attitude can make a big difference. Be friendly and open to listen to them, even if it’s a bogus complaint.

Delinquent Tenants

Don’t make any exceptions for late rent. This will set the stage for future dealings with this tenant. Stay consistent with your rules and regulations that you should have as a written protocol. Utilize the automatic tenant late fee options in your property management software and let the software auto apply these with consistency. Hint: You can blame the software if a tenant complains. Also, you should let the software send invoice and late fee reminders to your tenants. Run all your tenant communications through the property management software. That way you will have a log file of them. Should you have to go to collections.

Night Owl

If your tenant skips out on you, keep track of all the evidence and document everything! A good understanding of your state’s laws is critical (or have legal counsel on retainer). There will be certain procedures you have to follow for handling abandoned property and taking back possession.

4. Damaged or Mess Up Property

First, make sure you require renter’s insurance. Most web-based property management software will also provide an option for insurance. This will help cover more serious damage like fires (even small kitchen fires).  Document all damage, use the property management accounting software to track all expenses related to the damage and include photos.

It’s very important to have these protocols and processes in place before a problem arises. Having these in place will help you avoid unnecessary headaches.

About PropertyZar

PropertyZar is a real estate technology company specifically in the web-based property management software for owners and professional property managers. Learn more www.PropertyZar.com

Content is originally posted at https://www.propertyzar.com/propertyzar-dealing-with-bad-tenants/