Often, when people think about selling their home, they are confused about which improvements will increase the value of their home and which ones will essentially be a waste of time. Depending on how soon you plan on selling your home, there are several steps you can take to bump up its value and walk away with more cash. First and foremost though, you need to look at your latest assessment and see what your city thinks your home is worth. While it’s not always an accurate number, it’s worth knowing the assessed value.

Next, talk to your agent about what similar properties are selling for in your neighborhood. Is your neighborhood improving and driving the prices up or is the situation just the opposite? Sometimes, because of the location of your property, no matter what improvements you make – you won’t get the return on your investment, so don’t rush into replacing all of the windows. However, if your agent says you have wiggle room, she will usually tell you how much you can spend to come out on top rather than incur extra expense. Here are a few quick improvements you can make to bump up the value of your home.

What to do inside
• Buy fresh inexpensive light switches and outlets and install them. Dirty and yellowish light switches are unattractive and lower the value of the house in buyers’ eyes.
• Hire carpet cleaners to clean carpets throughout your home.
• Repaint/sand and apply fresh coat of wood polish to trim. You don’t have to do this to an entire house, but refreshing key rooms and rooms seen from your entryway could be a big plus.
• Apply a coat of fresh, neutral paint to the walls. This is the well-known trick that pays off big by giving potential buyers the opportunity to dream without being suffocated by the colors that you may find attractive.
• Fix up odds and ends. Is your railing loose? Is the door squeaky? Is your laminate scratched up? Is it obvious that your toilet is 15 years old? These are not awfully expensive to fix, but they can definitely be eyesores.

What to do outside:
• Clean up the yard. Make sure you keep up with weeds/leaves/snow.
• Take care of obvious issues. If you have a dead or dying tree in your yard or moss-covered tree, you should definitely call a tree service company. Your buyers will spot these issues, and no one wants to invest in a house that has a threat of a fallen tree.