Your home is your biggest investment, and if you’re like most homeowners, you want to maximize that investment. There are variety of ways to maximize your return on investment while also providing benefits to the environment, your energy bill and even your taxes. Here are 5 great ways to add value to your home, while also saving you money.
1. Natural Light
Brokers agree that lighting in a home is paramount to boosting that re-sale value. Unfortunately, framing for a skylight can be expensive! A more cost effective approach is a sun tube or tubular skylight. With a sun tube you get the benefits of natural light without the cost of a traditional skylight. The best part? The added lighting doesn’t add any cost to your electric bill.
2. Harness the Power of The Sun
Installing solar panels or even a geothermal heat pump may seem overwhelming, but the price of such upgrades have become more reasonable over the last couple of years. Clean Power Research released a very helpful infographic that showed the average cost of a solar electric system by state and the expected savings. The average system costs about $10,000 in California and would save the average household $143 per month in electricity costs. On top of that, according to Forbes, homeowners can expect to recoup 97% of their investment, much higher than the estimated 60% you’d expect from a kitchen remodel. But if you’re thinking about taking this step in the next two years, there is even more good news. The Residential Energy Efficient Property Credit, which is valid through 2016, allows homeowners to claim 30% of qualified improvements on their taxes, with no maximum dollar value.
3. Replace That Old Toilet
While new, low-flow toilets use around a gallon of water per flush, older models can use almost four times as much! Spruce up that bathroom by replacing your old toilet. A new toilet could run you less than $200, so it’s an inexpensive green update for your home. Save on your water bill, help the environment and make your bathroom more appealing to potential buyers.
4. Clean Up Your Appliance Act
Want to make the biggest impact, for the lowest investment? Replace your dishwasher. A new model could cost you as little as $300 but save you around 10 gallons of water per cycle. Depending on where you live and how frequently you run your dishwasher, that can save you around $5-10 per month. At that rate, that new shiny dishwasher will pay for itself in a few years. When it comes to re-sale, buyers love new appliances, especially younger buyers purchasing their first home.
5. Plant Some Green to Make Some Green
Curb appeal can make a huge difference in the selling price of your home. Landscaping can make quite an impact, but did you know that simply grouping potted plants can improve your bottom line? Try grouping three terra-cotta pots of various sizes with bright, colorful flowers. Plant trees around your house to increase shade (and help your home stay cool in summer!).
Tim Smith is a contributor at Modernize.com.
