if you’ re comfortable, ask your real estate agent to show potential buyers copies of your utility bills so they can see how much less they will be paying.
How to make your home more energy-efficient: Ceiling insulation
• By using ceiling insulation: you will reduce the energy needed to keep your home at a comfortable temperature.
• By using ceiling insulation, you are helping to eradicate the largest contributor to global warming and it’ s a return on investment- a win-win situation.
Geyser blankets Lighting systems i. e * LED’ s or * CFL’ s
• CFL- Compact fluorescent lamps can reduce power consumption by up to 75 %
• LED: These are the latest saving energy light globes and they last up to 100 times longer than the usual globes
Solar water heater
• Having a solar water heater can drastically reduce power consumption and will save a large amount of electricity.
• If you cannot install solar heating, consider a heat pump.
Spruce up your exterior
First impressions are lasting impressions. Ensuring that the exterior of your home looks good is imperative because its what people see when they first arrive. The key is to create a lasting impression from the moment people pull up and the trick to doing that is by enhancing your entrance. Greeff says that“ improvements to your property are definitely steps in the right direction and will certainly improve curb-appeal.”
How to improve the exterior of your home: Create a designated pathway
• It is essential that when you design and build your path that you get the width correct- more often than not, pathways can be too narrow so ensure that you leave enough room for two people to walk side by side.
Keep it clear
• Trim down overgrown trees and bushes that block the view of your home and walkways.
• Install low-cost, low voltage outdoor lighting. This not only adds to the safety and security of the home, but it also adds accent lighting to the house and can illuminate a pathway.
A fresh coat of paint
Re-painting the interior of the home is a must when wanting to boost value. Greeff says that‘’ most sellers don’ t realise how much abuse walls take until that fresh coat of paint has been applied. A new paint job has the potential to lighten rooms, hide visual defects and can instantly make a space feel fresh and clean”.
Tips for re-painting your home:
• Choose a colour that not only appeals to you, but to a larger pool of people as well.
• Colour suggestions include: Gray Owl White Duck egg Pantone’ s 2020 Colour: Classic Blue
If you are wanting to boost your home’ s value before listing it, consider the above renovation tips. These are renovations, that even if you decide not to list, they will still make your home more livable and more aesthetically pleasing. You can’ t go wrong with a kitchen and bathroom remodel and when talking about top-quality finishes and additional features, it not won’ t only make your home more enjoyable to live in, but when you do decide to sell, it will certainly work in your favour.
SOURCE Greeff Christie’ s International Real Estate
SA Real Estate Investor Magazine SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2020 19