<p>One of the most common problems that homeowners have is they tend to become spoiled by watching their home increase in value due to natural inflation. They get to sit back year after year during a decade or so of an up market trends and simply count the equity as it stacks up.<br />
When the down-market hits they find themselves lost and clueless on what to do. Most homeowners hope for some arbitrary change in the market so that they can once again start watching their home increase in value.<br />
Yet, there are some homeowners who take matters into their own hands. These are a select few who realize that a down-market is not a &#8216;no market&#8217;. These are savvy homeowners who actually increase the value of their investment with cost effective improvements like the 5 listed below.<br />
<strong>1. Weatherize Your Home</strong><br />
The cost of heating and cooling larger homes is one of the reasons people opt to buy smaller units. When it comes to homes with high ceilings, utility bills can quickly take the joy out of living large. The best solution is to weatherize your home to make it more enticing to prospective buyers.<br />
The information and products in weatherizing your home are readily available. Many of the things that you need to weatherize a home are also relatively inexpensive. Brushes under doors to stop drafts, water heater blankets and cellulose ceiling insulation are just a few things you can start to improve on. There are loads of easy weatherization projects that you could do on your own with the use of simple tools.<br />
<strong>2. Interior and Exterior Painting</strong><br />
It&#8217;s not cheap to have a home painted so this is something that you can do to increase the appeal and build some real equity in your home. The problem that too many homeowners have is how to start painting the entire home. The best way is to start painting one room at a time.<br />
Rather than painting your home all at once try to do it as a series of weekend projects. Keep in mind that you don&#8217;t need any specialized skills to paint a home.<br />
<strong>3. Modern Trim and Moulding Work</strong><br />
If your home is old and looks outdated, one of the reasons may be because of old trim and molding. Take a look at the baseboards that you&#8217;ll see on any modern home and you&#8217;ll see that the taller colonial look has become the trend to replace shorter more discreet baseboards.<br />
You don&#8217;t need to have any carpentry experience to install your own trim and baseboards. Rather you just need to have the will to do it. Take a look and see for yourself that it&#8217;s just a series of straight runs with 45° cuts on the corners and light nailing. The materials are also relatively inexpensive.<br />
<strong>4. A Light Kitchen Remodel Job</strong><br />
You can really spend a lot of money into a kitchen remodeling job. If you&#8217;re thinking of low cost with high return kitchen remodeling jobs, you can always opt for affordable improvements. Ask any realtor and they&#8217;ll tell you that the two most important rooms in a home are the kitchen and the master bathroom. These two rooms need a lot of attention if you want to successfully sell your home.<br />
Start with a light kitchen remodel job which involves tasks such as replacing the knobs on doors and cabinets, installing string lights under cabinets, hanging a new light fixture, and updating countertops. Finish it off with a fresh paint job and you can have a brand-new looking kitchen to make your home more marketable.<br />
<strong>5. Tub and Shower Inserts</strong><br />
If you have an older home then the bathrooms would most likely look worn and outdated. For such a small area, tubs and showers can be real money pits and could really entail a lot of work.<br />
There are still ways to make your bathroom look spic and span. First, take a close look at tub and shower inserts. There are newer and improved insert kits that are available which looks like real tile and you don&#8217;t need any special skill to install these things. It is easy to trim to the right size with a razor knife and then glue it in with standard construction adhesive. Finish it off with a tub and tile caulk.<br />
<strong>The Bottom Line:</strong><br />
You don&#8217;t need to be an expert at any particular craft or trade to do worthwhile projects on your home to improve its value. On the other hand, things like electrical wiring, gas piping and roofing projects are better left to professionals, but there&#8217;s still loads of other things that you could do around your home.<br />
Take the time to read about products and materials and watch some do-it-yourself instructional videos on the internet before you start your home improvements. It&#8217;s not rocket science and a big chunk of what it takes to get improvement projects done on your home is simply the will to commit to doing them.<br />
Written by Joseph Henderson. I work for a painting company in Florida and specialize as a painting contractor in Lake Nona.</p>

5 Ways To Increase The Value Of Your Home In A Down Market
