There is no doubt that the location of your property is the biggest factor in deciding its value. Nothing beats a house in a good neighborhood with easy access to all facilities. Nonetheless, making some home improvements helps a lot in adding value to the property. Decide on a comfortable budget, make a list of things you want to remodel and take advice from a professional to understand what returns those improvements would fetch you. But you have to realize that getting expensive brick pavers or fixing the plumbing problems may not fetch great returns. You need not over-improve but target those things which will be important for the buyer. Some of these things are listed below.

Dark and cramped places are liked by no one. On the contrary, a well-lit and spacious house is like a magnet which attracts everyone as it radiates positive energy. Changing your floor plan to make your house look spacious is a good idea. For example, if your rooms are small and block natural sunlight, you can remove some walls to open up your floor plan. Also, you can combine your kitchen, living room and dining room to make it look spacious. You can also widen your doorways 6 to 12 inches to make the place look bigger. You can have vaulted ceilings to make your rooms look bigger. Well-lit, airy and spacious rooms are very inviting and are a big value booster.

In their efforts to go “green”, many companies have started giving the option of telecommuting or work from home to their employees. This has made “home office” a necessity rather than a luxury. Creating an office space adds a lot of value to the house. If you have a room which the buyer can visualize as his/her home office, it will definitely increase his/her prospects of buying your house. An unused den, a sun-room or an extra bedroom can be converted into an office. Make sure that the room has space to place cabinets for storage, a computer desk, has phone lines and data ports and other electrical outlets.

It’s rightfully said that first impression is the last impression. If your house doesn’t appeal to the buyer from outside, chances are that he/she may not want to buy the property. So curb appeal is an important aspect as far as adding value to the property is concerned. According to BankRate a good first impression can add 5 to 10 percent to the value of your house. Make sure that the exterior of your house doesn’t look outdated or faded. Apply fresh paint on the outside walls to make them look new. Add flowers to the entrance and the pathway. Mow your lawn to make it look attractive, neat and clean. You may want to add some furniture in your patio or deck to make it look attractive. Easy-to-take-care perennials, raised garden beds or even a water feature can add a lot of beauty to your outdoors and make it look fresh and inviting.