Kitchens & Baths

Smart presale home improvements are ones done on rooms that are well used like the family room, kitchen and bathroom. Media rooms and home offices tend to give lower return rate.

However, be careful not to go to high-end with the kitchen or bathroom.

Also, consider your neighborhood. If the tab for a top-of-the-line kitchen remodel would represent a relatively high percentage of the total home price in the area you won't get a high return on your improvement cost.

Windows

Consider if there are improvements that are needed. Would not doing a particular improvement prevent your home for selling or lower its value. Would the next homeowner be likely to do a certain improvement upon buying your home? If the answer is no, it is probably an indication that the improvement would not return on the investment, or that it would only minimally increase the potential value of your property.

With windows, it is best to consider the price range of your home and buy windows accordingly. Don't pay more than the next owner could afford if they were putting the windows in themselves or you won't get your money out of it. On the other hand, don't undervalue your home by putting in windows that are far below the standard in the area.

Flooring

A lot of potential buyers look for hardwood flooring. So, if you have hardwood under your old carpeting, consider ripping it up and having the floor professionally refinished. It's a good idea to have your floors professional assessed before you go ahead with ripping up all the carpet. A flooring contractor would generally want to inspect the condition of the floor in a high traffic area like a doorway or hall as opposed to merely peaking at the corner where there will be no wear.

Paint

Paint remains one of the best presale investment improvements. While painting the same color throughout your home can seem off-putting or drab to some buyers it is still recommended to steer away from bold, dramatic colors that will not appeal to the average buyer. For a cohesive look , that still offers variety and panache, try using a variety of subtle neutrals. For ideas, have a look at Restoration Hardware's sophisticated line of paints. They offer lighter hues like butter, stone and pale silver.

So, in addition to staging preparations for showing your home - like editing the furniture and knickknacks, cleaning the windows and washing the floors - make sure your home isn't timeworn by giving it a fresh coat of paint.

Potential buyers often look for evidence of leaks in the ceilings and cracking in the walls. If the roof had to be repaired or some shifting in the foundation corrected but the interior visual evidence was not addressed, potential buyers will be leery. A leery buyer means a lower offering price. So, make all necessary drywall repairs and repaint.

Curb Appeal

If you are planning on selling your home in the near future there are many home improvements that will make your home more buyer friendly. There are improvements to suit every budget.

If, on the other hand, you are not planning on selling your home in the near future, you have more freedom to improve your home to the way you want to enjoy it.
What you may not eventually get back on the cost of a particular home improvement, you may get back in added enjoyment.