Rehabbing Your Sweety Home to Become "Pop Star"

When rehabbing the home you live in or property you own as a rental, making the most of those rehab dollars should be your top priority. Choose wisely what and how you rehab and you can get top dollar for your property when it's time to sell.

There are a few "big picture" items you need to consider before you even begin. First, you need to drive around the neighborhood and determine which homes are the most appealing.

Then, do a search for those properties on Zillow.com to find out the square footage, number of beds and baths and lot size. Zillow is a great tool for comparing houses in a neighborhood and getting a general idea of how the home prices compare. But take it with a grain of salt because the actual house values can be quite different from actual comps. In a future article, we'll talk more about how to use Zillow.

Now, you need to compare your house to those in the neighborhood that are the most appealing-these are your "target homes". A lot of what you decide to do will depend on the current economy. In this economic climate, making major upgrades of square footage may not be the best use of your funds unless you plan to live in the home.

But, if the target homes in your area have an extra bedroom or a certain number of bathrooms, determine how you can improve your home to bring it to that level. In the current economy, there are many more homes available for sale so your house really needs to stand out. It is a great idea to have a feature in the house that will really make it "pop".

Another consideration is your "target buyer". What is the makeup of current residents in the neighborhood? People tend to flock to areas of their own kind, not meaning to offend anyone, but that is human nature. If your area appeals to a certain ethnicity then you need to understand what that type of buyer looks for.

Here are some ideas, again, keeping in mind the neighborhood and your target buyers.

1. Curb appeal is what will get buyers out of the car and into your home. Make sure your home is on par with your target homes. Could you add a couple of potted plants such as spiral topiaries or colorful flowers on the walkway? Anything to make it more welcoming.
2. A backyard meant for entertaining. Adding a deck and barbeque area is appealing for those who are family centered.
3. A built in high-end coffee maker in the kitchen is a real "pop item". You can also stress the amount of money you can save by brewing Starbucks-like coffee at home instead of buying out ($4 x 30 days - $120/month savings or $1,440 a year).
4. A special feature in the bathroom such as frameless shower doors, a unique bowl-type sink or light fixture.
5. Crown molding is always a welcome feature, but consider extra thick higher end molding for more affluent neighborhoods.

These are just a few ideas to really make your home pop and make it easier to sell when you're ready or much more pleasant to live in for now. But, you also have to get people to see the property and we'll talk about some ideas for doing that in a future article.