You’ll be surprised at the transformative effect a little investment and elbow grease can make your home the most sought after in the neighborhood. There are a multitude of ways to improve your home’s value, but the secret is knowing where to focus your spend to get the best results.

#1. Work From The Outside In

The first impression any potential buyer or property evaluator will get off your home is looking on from the outside.  If it looks like it’s seen better days you’ll find it hard to get a fair evaluation and more importantly tempt people through the door to admire the rest of your home refresh. You can improve this with a fresh layer of paint in a neutral cream color to update the exterior, or take the time to tidy up any weeds or overgrown shrubs.

Remember you never get a second chance t make a first impression.

#2. Give Your Kitchen A Facelift

Start at the heart of your home. Outside of the bedroom this is where we spend the most of our time and is also a home’s most communal area, which makes it a lynch pin in securing a buyer’s investment.

Without drastically remodeling your kitchen you can easily improve its value with a face-lift on all surfaces. For example, try swapping impractical carpet tiles for sleek laminate flooring or upgrading kitchen worktops to quality materials such as oak or granite.

#3. Revamp Your Garden

Having a ready to use outdoor living space is becoming more and more important to today’s buyer as more families choose to vacation a home.

You can easily transform your outdoor space with a decked or paved patio area. Once you’ve added garden furniture, canopies and lighting which can be done on relatively inexpensive investment, you will have significantly improved the value of your home by adding a whole new living space to your property.

#4. Add A Bedroom Room

Many homes have whole rooms that are neglected or wasted as mere storage space full of forgotten old toys. Adding an additional bedroom will always make your home more attractive to potential family buyers too.

If the space you have available is simply to small too fit a bed into, try converting into a walk in wardrobe or study that will still add another selling point to the property.

If you’re happy to put up the capital you can expand your living space with a loft conversion or extension, and if executed well could add up to 25% onto the property value.

#5. Add A Little Luxury

Basements are often over looked despite offering masses of unused space. These spaces lend themselves well to games rooms or home cinemas and as such can add a touch of luxury or indulgence to an ordinary house to an irresistible proposition. On a smaller budget you can still work wonders by adding a feature fireplace, ornate bath tub or built in flat screen TV.

On a smaller budget you can still create add luxury by creating a feature fireplace, adding an ornate bathtub or fitting a built it flat screen TV.

#6.  Style Your Bathroom

The bathroom is a similar space to the kitchen as another deciding factor on the value of your home. By refreshing your bathroom even with a small budget, by replacing all worn fixtures, fittings and adding a fresh lick of paint you can make a big difference.  Otherwise you can add significant value by adding a second bathroom or en-suite to the master bedroom.

BIO: Anna Jones is a freelance writer with a passion for home renovation, working with Insurance Town, a great place to compare insurance quotes.