The Big Picture On The Best Renovations Before Selling Your Home:
Focus on curb appeal and first impressions, including updating the front door, landscaping, and power washing the exterior.
Simple interior upgrades, such as painting, refinishing floors, and updating fixtures in kitchens and bathrooms, can make a big impact.
Consider adding smart home and energy-efficient features to increase appeal and marketability.
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Want to boost your property’s value with DIY home improvements before selling or leasing it but strapped for cash?
No biggie.
You’d be amazed how much you can do yourself, even if you’re not exactly Tim the Toolman Taylor. When considering the best renovations to do before selling, you don’t need to knock down walls or install new HVAC systems. You can add serious value to your property with little experience and little money.
Many DIY home improvement ideas coincide with property upgrades with the highest investment return. Most are cheap enough to put on your credit card, but you can also look into ways to finance property renovations. Beyond your standard investment property loans, explore lining up unsecured business credit lines and cards through Fund & Grow; they average $150,000-$200,000 in rotating credit lines for their real estate investor clients.
Here are some of the best renovations to do before selling your property. Get your hands dirty and whip your property into shape DIY-style!
1. Replace the Front Door
According to Remodeling Magazine’s 2020 Cost vs. Value Report, replacing your front door with a steel entry door returns 68.8% of its cost in higher value when you go to sell. And that’s if you pay someone else to install it.
But why pay someone else to install a door? With a screw gun, some pizza, and a friend, you can replace a door on your own. All you need to buy is the door itself. And the pizza.
That means spending $250-400 on the door instead of the average total cost of $1,881, and you’ll boost your home’s value by an average of $1,294. Not bad for a day’s work, eh?
2. Get Serious About Curb Appeal
One reason that upgrading the front door works so well is that prospective buyers and renters make up their minds within seconds of approaching your property.
Seconds!
That means that first impressions and curb appeal matter a lot. So, what can you do to boost your curb appeal and make a stellar first impression?
First of all, scrape and paint any surfaces with flaking paint. No brainer.
If your property has a front lawn, it should be trimmed, mowed, landscaped, coiffed, and primed to perfection.
You can consider planting bushes, shrubs, trees, etc., but we’re trying to save money here, not splurge, so proceed with prudence.
One simple tactic among the best renovations to do before selling your home is adding potted plants. This works whether your property is urban or rural; you can line the sidewalk or entryway for a cheap, easy DIY property win.
Quick Curb Appeal Improvements
For a better picture, below is a table of curb appeal improvements you can easily do yourself.
Improvements
Difficulty Level
Impact
Update house numbers
Easy
Medium
Add outdoor lighting
Moderate
High
Install window boxes
Easy
Medium
Clean gutters
Moderate
Medium
Edge walkways
Easy
Medium
Refresh mailbox
Easy
Low
Trim overgrown trees
Moderate
High
Add a welcome mat
Easy
Low
3. Modernize Your Garage Door
As mentioned in Tip #2, the front door creates an inviting first impression for potential buyers or renters. You can choose materials like steel, fiberglass, or wood to complement your home’s architectural style.
For the same reason, garage doors are a big deal since they take up so much space on the house front. Going for modern designs with sleek lines, decorative windows, or carriage-house styles can elevate the entire property’s appearance.
But hey, replacing garage doors isn’t just about looking good—it’s one of the best renovations to do before selling your property, as it helps keep energy bills down and improves security.
The financial upside is also significant, as garage door replacements offer an impressive ROI, often recouping 103% of the project cost in increased home value.
4. Power Wash the Siding
Along similar lines, make sure the siding is spotless. If you don’t own a power washer (and let’s face it, most of us don’t), then rent or borrow one.
Operating one of these bad boys is not rocket science. It is an easy DIY home improvement that anyone can undertake.
Your siding should positively sparkle with cleanliness. First impressions matter!
5. Touch Up the Bathroom
When considering the best renovations to do before selling properties, always focus on quick updates that make a huge impact. Most bathrooms, for example, offer low-hanging fruit for DIY home improvement ideas—you must identify them.
One way to get started is to replace the hardware on the cabinets. Repainting them is also a quick and easy way to liven up the bathroom. You can also recaulk around the toilet, tub, and shower to keep waterproof seals.
If you have ceramic tile on the floor or shower walls, touch the grout. You can buy grout that squirts from a caulk gun and works like caulking.
Repaint the walls, replace the faucet and/or handles, and resurface the tub if it looks stained and gnarly.
Imagine yourself as a prospective buyer or renter and see the bathroom through their eyes. What looks dated or dirty? What can you do with a bit of money and a weekend to freshen it up? Enlist your spouse and kids to help you brainstorm bathroom DIY home improvement ideas—and, of course, to help you with the work.
6. Add Dimmer Switches to the Lights
Dimmer switches are cheap – about $15-40 apiece, depending on style. And just as appealingly, you can swap them in yourself.
Read an article or two about how to not electrocute yourself. Still, it is as simple as unscrewing the light switch plate, pulling out the electrical box, disconnecting wires from the old switch, and reconnecting them to the new switch. It’s not as scary as it sounds, and anyone can knock it out as a DIY home improvement project.
Dimmer switches are a cheap, easy way to show off how “modern” your property is. They are a simple demonstration that will elicit oohs and ahs from prospects as they walk through your property.
But seriously. Read an article or two beforehand or watch a YouTube video, so you don’t blame me if you fry off your eyebrows.
7. Go Green & Smart for the Price of One
You can market your property as a green and smart home with a few cheap upgrades. In many ways, green and smart home technologies have been merging for several years now.
Start with a smart thermostat. It costs about $200, reduces energy costs, and pays for itself within a year or so — easily one of the best renovations to do before selling, as it appeals to eco-conscious buyers.
Then, get a smart security system that includes air quality monitoring. Once again, several birds are dropping with one stone here: boosting security, safety, and smartness, and it sounds eco-friendly.
And the coup de grace? Install new fiberglass attic insulation. Remember in Tip #1 when we mentioned that steel entry doors are the second-highest ROI home upgrade? Well, fiberglass attic insulation is the big kahuna. It’s also the only home upgrade with a positive return on investment, recovering 107.7% of its cost in higher home values.
That figure includes paying someone else to install it for you. If you do it yourself, you’ll score an even higher ROI of several hundred percent.
Here are more smart home ideas to make your property even smarter.
8. Remodel Your Basement into a Selling Point
Does your house have an unfinished basement? Tackling this often overlooked space can add more square footage to the property and open up possibilities for home offices or entertainment areas. I myself would be interested in a house with an impressive basement setting!
However, it’s important for you to nail the basics—proper insulation, moisture control, and good lighting create a cozy atmosphere. Potential buyers or renters will likely be impressed by the extra living space and the chance to personalize it.
Although it may not be exactly “cheap,” keep in mind that basement remodels typically bring in a 70% ROI, so it can still be considered a smart financial move for those looking to sell.
9. Polish & Refinish Those Hardwood Floors
When I was a kid, my grandmother would hand me a pair of thick socks and a can of floor polish and tell me to get dancing.
If your floors are scuffed and scraped, you can sand them first. If not, just clean them and start polishing! There’s nothing like gleaming hardwood floors that positively shine. Sure, you can use a machine polisher, but assuming you don’t have one handy, just do it by hand (or foot). It’s an easy DIY home improvement idea you can tackle daily.
And hey, conscript your children or grandchildren to help you out. Free labor for you and “character building” for them – a win-win, right?
10. Give Your Kitchen a New Look
Kitchen renovations often cost five figures. People can’t help themselves; they get excited and spend like there’s no tomorrow.
That’s not what we’re talking about here.
I’m talking about simple DIY projects for your kitchen that will give it a new look without spending $4,000 on new granite countertops.
If your cabinets are old, paint them. If your countertops are gnarly old Formica or cheap composite, replace them with a butcher’s block.
Or if replacing them is over your head, just cover them with a butcher’s block.
Swap out the cabinet hardware, replace the faucet, and cover the gross old laminate flooring with a giant throw rug. Get creative, and don’t hesitate to scour the Internet for inspiration and see what other DIY home improvement ideas strike you around the kitchen!
If your creativity needs further stimulation, here are more cheap kitchen and bathroom hacks you can do yourself.
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11. Paint!
An oldie but goodie, as DIY home improvement ideas go. Fresh paint can do wonders for any room, so grab a brush and have at it!
Pick neutral colors for most rooms. Only get more adventurous if you feel quite confident in your interior decorating ability. And that confidence has been validated by at least three reliable, unbiased sources!
Brighter, lighter colors make most rooms look bigger and more welcoming than darker colors, but exceptions exist.
If you haven’t done much painting in your life, the cardinal skill is actually not painting but taping. Be meticulous with your taping, so you don’t have to be a perfect painter.
And, of course, recruit help. Children, grandchildren, friends, family. Go heavy on the pizza and beer bribes. You can knock out an entire house in a day with enough people.
Just do all the taping before everyone dives too greedily into the beer.
12. Outdoor Improvements That Attract Buyers or Renters
The good news is that you don’t need to spend a fortune to get it done—pulling weeds, trimming trees and bushes, and cleaning up driveway edges are good ways to start, and they create a tidy look, too!
Next, laying down fresh mulch in garden beds breathes new life into the property while helping the soil hold onto moisture. To add some flair, drought-resistant flowers bring pops of color and texture without demanding too much upkeep from future owners. Meanwhile, a well-fed lawn rolls out a lush, green welcome mat that’s hard to miss.
As day turns to night, clever outdoor lighting can spotlight key features and set a cozy mood for evening showings. Beyond just looks, thoughtful landscaping can seriously boost property value—according to recent stats, it typically increases a home’s value by 15-20% on average.
13. Clean It Spick & Span!
Speaking of sparkling, every part of the inside of your home should be flawlessly clean. That goes double for kitchens and bathrooms.
That doesn’t just mean mopping floors, though. If you live in the property, it also means decluttering and depersonalizing it as much as possible. As my stepfather always says, “When in doubt, throw it out!”
You can sell it, donate it to a nonprofit, or give it to a friend or family member who could use it—whatever “it” is.
Most people don’t think of cleaning their homes when they brainstorm DIY home improvement ideas. However, consumer reports estimate that ensuring your home is clutter-free and spotlessly clean can boost home values by 3-5%. Talk about the easiest ROI win ever.
Bonus Idea: Take More Professional Photos
While not a DIY home improvement idea per se, better photos make the most of your hard work. After all, what’s the point of putting in all that blood, sweat, and tears if no one can see the fruits of your labor?
Rule #1: Don’t use your smartphone camera for your property listing photos. Borrow a real digital camera from your photography-buff friend.
Yeah, yeah, I know. Your phone camera has “just as high of a megapixel count!” as your friend’s camera. Megapixels actually don’t mean very much in the grand scheme of photo quality, so stop objecting and just borrow a real camera.
Take photos during peak daylight hours in plentiful natural light. Try low-angle shots from crouching down, then hold the camera high for high-angle shots. Take eye-level shots and shoot from the deep corners of each room to make it look larger.
Get multiple angles of the best rooms in the house. Include fewer photos of less impressive rooms.
Take your photos very, very seriously. They’re often the first thing prospective buyers or renters see when they come across your listing. (Further reading on listing photography tips and writing irresistible rental listings).
Better yet, offer your photography-buff friend a six-pack of beer or a bottle of nice wine to come to take photos of your property herself. Let her work her magic so you don’t have to channel your inner Ansel Adams.
Who Needs Huge Budgets, Anyway?
Most of the DIY home improvement ideas above don’t require a large budget or much skill to implement. Personally, I don’t know a hacksaw from a jigsaw puzzle.
These are all good entry-level DIY home projects to build confidence and, even more importantly, add value to your property’s sale price. All of the above projects will yield incredible returns on investment – especially since you’re doing the work yourself!
Save some money on contractors and cleaners, get your hands dirty, and you’ll feel incredible satisfaction afterward. And that’s before you even cash that plump, juicy check!
What repairs have you made yourself? Any DIY home improvement tales of glory (or horror)? Regale us!
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