Canmore Home Value Improvements Before You Sell

Today, let’s talk about different improvements you can make to your Canmore home to bring it value up before you sell. Making some easy, thoughtful home improvements can substantially increase not just the value of your home, but also your enjoyment of it. Even if you aren’t looking to sell your Canmore home in the near future, making some smart improvements will definitely help with getting the price you want down the line.

Make Your Canmore Home Smart

In today’s world, we have access to so much great technology that is improving nearly every aspect of our lives. So why should our home environment be any different?

The Google Nest Thermostat does so much more than just look sleek on your wall (which it most definitely does.). You can use it to control your heat and hot water systems directly from an app on your phone. In just a week, the Nest will learn how warm or cold you like your home throughout the day. When you’re at home, it will raise the temperature, and when you go out, it will turn it down, ultimately saving you energy. This is great news for Canmore homeowners looking to reduce their carbon footprint.

A key feature of the Nest Thermostat is that it leverages your usage to create your own Energy History and Home Reports. Using this data, you can determine how much heat and energy you use each day and when you use it. The helpful Report tells you how you can use less, making an eco-friendly choice and saving you money.

This leads us to our next value improvement:

Make Your Canmore Home Efficient

Making your home more efficient can feel great for your budget, but also make your Canmore home so much more appealing to buyers in the future. Obviously not every home can take advantage of things like solar panels, but there are some great things we all can do to make improve efficiency at home:

Change all light bulbs to LEDs
Re-seal / caulk all gaps, cracks & leaks and add insulation where needed. This can save you as much as 10% on home heating and cooling costs.
Clean and replace filters in your home regularly to improve the way your systems function and reduce runtime.
Replace your blinds with ones that provide better blockage of light and use them regularly to maintain a steady temperature in your house. This can reduce heating/cooling costs and is a great excuse to get beautiful new blinds!
Update any toilets, shower heads and faucets to be low-flow. Older fixtures can waste massive amounts of water.
Consider getting a professional energy audit done to see if there are more ways to make your home more efficient. A recent energy audit report will also be appealing to future buyers of your home!

Interior Paint!

Now, many Canmore homeowners know the value of a good, fresh coat of paint. New or recent interior paint in your home gives your walls & surfaces a “reset.” This is a great way to remove or cover old grime, stains and dirt that may have accumulated on your walls. Sometimes homeowners will move their furniture into their new home, thinking they will paint later on. Flash forward, and they’ve been living in a home for five years with the previous owner’s grime!

Adding a fresh coat of interior paint can be a fun, weekend project for you and your family. An added bonus besides changing the look and feel of each room, is the value added to your home’s resale value. Experts say new paint, even down to colour choice can provide a return of 107% on your investment and can possibly add $6,000 to your resale value. Wow!

The Top Canmore Home Value Improvements Before You Sell:

Small, thoughtful touches that count!

Handles & Pulls

We don’t all have the budget to completely renovate our kitchens (as much as we might like!). Even if you aren’t able to change out things like your countertops and cabinets, you can make small changes to update your look.

Head down to Home Hardware or browse Etsy for some great, updated drawer pulls & handles. Swapping out the style or colour of your handles can dramatically change the look of your kitchen cabinets or bathroom vanities.

Doorknobs

Changing out your hold, worn-out doorknobs inside your home can add a luxe-feel. This is great for your own use, and for any potential homebuyers walking through your home to determine if it “feels right” for them. Small, thoughtful touches such as door handles and knobs can make a big impact on buyers. Go for a modern update if you can, with square edges and a black finish.

Your Front Door!

The front door of your Canmore home is essentially the first impression (beyond curb appeal) you and future buyers will have with your home. Does it stick? Is the paint chipped? Is that old brass knob tarnished, and does the lock need more than just a squirt of WD-40? I think it’s time for an update!

A well selected and tastefully designed front door can add as much as $24,000 to your home’s resale value. Now that is something I know every homeowner would like to see. Its understandable how value like this can be achieved with such a simple improvement. Your front door is the portal to your home and thus sets the tone, not only for the way you live there currently, but for how potential buyers may envision their own life in your home.

The Porch

This is an often overlooked area of a home, which is a shame since it is an extension of your interior. Your front exterior entryway/porch/deck is like a window of your home life to your neighbourhood, potential buyers, and the world. What does a cracked, worn out doormat say about you? How about dead plants, last seasons dry leaves, and various discarded tools and toys?

Give your front exterior entryway a boost with some beautiful, seasonal planters. Ideally planted with deer & elk friendly species so they don’t get munched on immediately. A fresh coat of paint or stain on your wooden surfaces will go a long way as well.