What is the Smartest Investment For Your Home?

What is the Smartest Investment For Your Home?

It’s summer and many of us are looking at how to spruce up our homes, particularly if we have been considering selling that home on the incredibly uncertain market. I’m not going to lie though, times are tough right now, and it seems like they will remain that way for some time, so us home owners have to be especially careful about where we invest our money. The last thing you want to do is put a lot of investment into your home when that investment does very little to increase your property value.

Curb appeal is a big step in increasing property value. This is all common sense stuff that you yourself would look for if you were buying a house. Clean windows, new paintjob/siding on the house, clean eaves, raked lawn, and so on. A clean and tidy exterior brings a feeling of comfort and space, rather than clutter and headaches. If you want to bring your curb appeal up another notch, consider investing in a small storage shed and paint it to match your house. Also consider adding some flowers/potted plants if you haven’t done much in terms of landscaping.

The absolute best thing you can do to raise your property value is to buy a fence that will last for a long time without maintenance. Wrought iron tends to rust and its weight tends to make it particular expensive to ship and install. Wood is lighter but tends to crack and chip, warp and peel. Aluminum is the best option, in my opinion, because its cost-effective, light-weight, and easy to install. Avoid a chain-link fence if you can, as they tend to look cheap and don’t last very long. A solid structure picket fence is probably your best bet, but many elegant styles are available in aluminum.

What really raises your property value is practicality and originality. If your homes style is distinctive, comfortable, and unique; you’ve got your sale (or a very nice place to call home).