Nailing the Basics: Best Practices to Increase Value of Home

[Emil Pinlac]

Hi Everyone - 

I'd love to hear everyone's tips and tricks when it comes to increasing the value of your investment home - either for aspiring tenants who want to live in your property, or in a modest "flip" sale situation. 

On my end - I've heard that some of the easiest (and potentially cheapest) tricks could be:
- applying a fresh coat of paint on the exterior / interior living room spaces of the home
- refurnishing doors / door knobs 
- updating the lighting of bathrooms or kitchen area light fixtures
- bathroom refurbishment
- curb appeal / clearing out excess weeds/trees/shrubbery.

I've also heard of situations where the home owner would either offer to build, or provide a backyard shed for the tenant as additional storage space, charging an extra $100-$150 per month if the tenant wanted to use it. 

What are some other ways to increase the home's value, or even increase the prices of your rental homes to provide value for your tenants? 

[Scott Passman]

If you can find homes with a bonus room that can easily be converted into a bedroom it is typically an opportunity as well.  My first purchase was a 2 bedroom home with a den off the main area that only needed a built-in closet to officially convert it to a 3rd bedroom.  I did this 10 months after purchasing the property and the home appraised for 45k more afterwards.