DIY Projects for Increasing Your Home’s Resale Value

(ARA) - With housing prices on the decline, homeowners are looking for ways to ensure top dollar when selling their homes. There are many DIY projects homeowners can easily do in a weekend that will increase the value of their property.

The first project involves simple landscaping. Trim hedges, prune trees and nourish the lawn. You might also think about adding some new, healthy seasonal ornamentals if you’re thinking about selling in the near future.

Another project is a bit more physical but can be done by two people over the course of a weekend. Consider a make-over for your deck.

Today’s hidden deck fasteners offer a smooth “nail-free” surface, which preserves the beauty of the wood and reduces splitting, splintering, cupping and rotting. Costs and installation times have been dramatically reduced thus making this an affordable and easy project for do-it-yourselfers.

Simply replace the surface deck boards with an inexpensive grade of wood (pressure treated), use hidden deck fasteners, like Tiger Claw’s TC-2, and finish with a deeper shade of brown stain. Your deck will have the appearance of hard wood flooring. If you want a really fast installation, use pre-grooved decking materials with Tiger Claw’s TC-G fastener. For more on hidden deck fasteners, visit www.deckfasteners.com.

Many potential homebuyers are now thinking green and looking for eco-friendly houses. Hot2o, by FAFCO, is the world’s first lightweight, affordable, all-polymer, DIY solar hot water system designed to reduce water heating bills by up to 50 percent. Hot2o is designed to work with any conventional residential hot water tank and can be installed in just a weekend by one person using normal household tools. Potential buyers will love the idea of guilt-free showers.

GreenHomeGuide.com provides hundreds of ideas for quick and affordable green DIY projects. It’s a free one-stop resource for best practices and experiences, and offers more than a dozen regional directories of locally-available green DIY products, services and retailers.

If your home is looking a little worn on the outside, a quick weekend fix can involve replacing or painting old and rotting wood surrounding windows and doors. If you’re thinking about siding, the Bear Clip system is designed to make installing fiber cement siding so easy that one person can do it. According to the manufacturer, Bear Cub Industries, the Bear Clip reduces installation labor by 40 percent.

For inside the house, you’d be surprised just how much difference a fresh coat of paint can make. Depending on the size of your house, how many rooms you want to do and how many helpers you have, painting can be accomplished on a weekend. Select warm, yet conservative paints that make rooms look large, open and inviting.

Finally, for kitchens and bathrooms, change the hardware and perhaps replace the cabinet door fronts. It’s easy to do and doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.

With so many homes on the market today, homebuyers can afford to be choosy. Investing your time in weekend DIY home improvements can help you not only land the sale but also achieve your asking price -- and maybe even better.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

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