Give Your Home a Little Love and Boost its Health and Market Value

Between remote work, quarantines, lockdowns, and homeschooling, many people probably feel they’ve spent more time in their homes, in the past two years, than ever before. And no matter how much you love your house – and the people you share it with – this can get tedious, after a while. If getting out and reconnecting with people and reentering the world is not an option for you just yet, it’s important to find ways to make your house feel more like home. One way you can do this is by putting some time and effort into giving your home interior an upgrade. To get you started, here are some tips from the Mary Ellen Vanaken Team. 

The importance of decluttering.

The best, easiest, and least expensive way you can make your home feel more pleasant and inviting is to do a hardcore declutter. Sort through your extra possessions and see which you don’t need to keep. Then decide which can be donated or reused in some way and which need to go in the trash pile. If you are low on storage, consider cabinets with doors and drawers rather than open storage, since open shelving can collect dust (and more clutter). Also, pro-tip: use a free label maker to keep everything straight, or else you’ll spend half your time going through storage, trying to find something you’ve lost.

Giving your home a makeover.

Options for refreshing your home don’t have to be expensive, arduous, or time-consuming. Depending on your house, its condition, and its aesthetic, you may be able to give your interior an almost magical transformation without doing anything major. Easy fixes like swapping out fixtures, adding a fresh coat of paint and trim, or upgrading window fittings can make your home feel like a whole new place. If your furniture is stained or worn, it can be worth spending a little to switch it out for new pieces, especially as old furniture can be a haven for dust mites.

Making your home healthier.

Speaking of dust mites, giving your home a refresher can also make it a healthier place to live. As well as dust and dust mites, try to tackle areas where mold or mildew are a problem. Make sure your home is well ventilated, too. If you’re living in an older residence, be aware of any health hazards built into it, such as lead paint or lead pipes, or asbestos in the walls and insulation.

Financing your home refresher.

If you are planning on making some more pricey upgrades, you’ll need to decide how to budget for them. One possibility might be simply to put off certain renovations until later or to focus simply on the few tasks that seem most pressing right now. If you think it’s doable to pull from your savings to finance a home upgrade, that might be one way to afford it. Another could be to get a loan. Whichever route you choose, it will go easier on your budget if you can figure out options for lowering your monthly expenses. When going over your budget to look for expenses to cut, don’t forget that refinancing your home can get you a better interest rate with lower payments.

Boosting your home’s overall value.

As a bonus, refreshing and updating your home can increase its market value, should you opt to sell and relocate once getting out and about is an option again, or if you are considering a job or career change as an added “refresher.” If a move is somewhere on your timeline, make sure you keep detailed records of the upgrades you are making and take before and after photos, so you can help track your market value increase. It also may help to do a little research to see what is desirable in the housing market at present.

Even if you can’t change your setting by getting out and traveling around, you can still make changes in the place where you are. This will make your house a healthier place to reside in and could potentially help if you decide to sell later on. 

Mary Ellen Vanaken Team understands that buying a home is probably the largest investment you will ever make, whether you are buying your first home or are upgrading to a larger home. Her backyard has everything available from starter homes, to condominiums, to investment properties, to large estates. Call (678)665-2887. Image via Pinterest. Article via AdviceMine.com.