How to Save Money While Updating an Old House

If you’re looking to sell your home, studies show it will cost an average of $15,200 to do it! What if you’re working with a tight budget? What if your home is old, and you’re worried that may drive costs up even more?

The good news is that amount isn’t set in stone. It is absolutely possible to make necessary fixes and upgrades that substantially improve an old house and to do it all at a relatively low price tag. Let’s explore some of the best ways to do it.

Clean Old, Musty Vents

This is a task that makes a big difference but is often overlooked. You have likely experienced some of the ill effects of old, dusty vents. If you smell smoke or burning the first time the heat kicks on in cold winter months, that’s a sign that your ventilation system is past due for rigorous cleaning. The majority of new homes — around 90% — have professionally installed heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. With a few simple steps, your home’s vents can also be like new.

How do you do it? Make sure the heat and air conditioning are shut off, and not set to automatically turn on again at a certain temperature. Use a screwdriver to remove duct covers. Clean these covers with a brush first, and then some soap and water. Vacuum inside wall ducts to remove excess dust and particles. If you believe there may something wrong with your system or you have allergies and it’s particularly dusty, consider having a professional come take a look. Don’t underestimate how water damage can impact a home. Don’t neglect it. Besides, a good basement waterproofing job can give a 30% ROI.

Invest In a Thorough Carpet Cleaning

A clean, fresh-looking carpet or carpets can make all the difference. Plus, the odds are that any well-used rugs are pretty filthy. In fact, just one square yard of carpet can trap up to one full pound of dirt. Getting carpets professionally cleaned gives them a crisp, polished look while reducing the circulation of dust and particles around your home. Remember, carpets give rooms a cozy, comfortable feel, and provide practical benefits such as insulating cold rooms and lowering heating costs. Sell these benefits when it comes time to put your home on the market!

Add A Fresh Coat of Paint

A simple and cost-effective way to spruce up an old home is to buy some paint. In fact, paint is a nearly all-around fix. Paint your front door a bright, bold color to enhance curb appeal. According to the budget-friendly blog Wise Bread, revamping your front door with a new coat of paint costs as little as $30. What’s more, select a paint with protective properties, and you can shield your front door from rain, sleet, wind, and snow. Paint old cabinets to make them look like new. Paint molding a contrasting color from the walls (i.e., if walls are dark green, paint them white), or paint molding in a room with white walls white as well to give the room a more open, airier feel.

Repaint interior walls, and do some research before you do it. The colors you select should depend on your aim. For example, neutral colors like white, eggshell white, beige, and gray are attractive to potential buyers. That gives them the freedom to furnish and decorate homes as they would like. Yellow boosts mood and energy, making it a popular and trendy choice for kitchens. Blue is calming and soothing–just what you’re looking for when it’s time for bed. Painting rooms all white makes small spaces appear larger, and painting rooms with especially high ceilings bold, dark shades helps looming, drafty spaces look nice and cozy.

Don’t Forget to Clean The Outside of Your House

Sellers can get so preoccupied with upgrading the interiors of their homes, they tend to neglect or forget about the outer appearance of homes. That is a huge mistake. Curb appeal is very important, and it’s often one of the driving factors — if not the top factor — that lures potential buyers inside to view your home.

Keep your budget low by asking a friendly neighbor to borrow their pressure washer. Pressure washers blast away dirt, grime, mildew, mold, and more.

Do other little acts of love around the exterior of your home. Prune back plants, trees, and bushes. Add decorative stone and/or mulch. Weed garden beds, paths, and walkways, and plant new flowers. Paint the porch, and replace any outdated lighting fixtures with inexpensive but sharp-looking modern ones.

Work Closely With a Home Inspector

Even the savviest homeowner may not know exactly what to look for when fixing and upgrading their home. Save time and money by working with a professional home inspector to identify your house’s problem areas and fix them the first time. Doing this can also help you set a budget. Meet with a home inspector and write a list of the necessary fixes that you must do in order to pass inspection. From there, you set a budget of remaining funds aside for upgrades that you would like to do but aren’t strictly necessary. What is an inspector looking for? Generally speaking, home inspectors will assess and evaluate the structural integrity of the roof, the attic and the insulation inside it, windows and doors, the basement, your home’s foundation, the electrical system, HVAC systems, and indoor plumbing. They will look for signs of water damage and pest infestation. Expect this process to take roughly two to four hours. Remember to keep areas clean and unobstructed–including the attic and basement.

Many states, like Florida, may mandate inspections. For example, Florida requires inspections on its condos every 40 years. Similarly, the majority of lenders ask buyers to have an inspection completed prior to approving any loans.

Upgrading an old home doesn’t have to break your budget. There are many cost-effective ways to make your home look and feel like new. Remove allergens and dirt in old ventilation systems, clean dirty carpets, buy paint and use it liberally, carefully consider curb appeal and quick outdoor fixes, and work closely with a house inspector to identify anything that requires your immediate attention prior to selling your home.