Whether you are thinking of selling your home or just wanting to improve it, when money is so tight, it is a good idea to spend wisely to hopefully increase the value of your home. Improving the right areas of your home makes it more attractive to prospective buyers and saves you making costly mistakes. Even though you are on a budget you first need to look at other similar homes in your area to see 'the competition'. With a critical eye, work out where you house falls short of the competition. If it helps, ask a friend, one who will be honest with you, so they can give an independent opinion.
You should have a list of what your competition has and what areas around the house your home needs to make improvement. Now it's time to take action.
Before you even get the DIY tools out... declutter. Time spent here can be your biggest and best home improvement investment.
When people buy a house they are wanting to see light and airy properties, they are buying space, so give them space. Tidy up, throw things away you don't use, and store what's left properly.
Nothing puts viewers off more, than a mess. Don't just take my word for it. An ING Direct survey (Aug 2012) found that 41% of prospective buyers would put in a lower offer, if the house they were viewing had untidy kids bedrooms. What you want to do is show off each room to its best and you can't do this if there's too much clutter everywhere. They want to see how the property's space can work for them, with their own stuff. If they see it not working for you, ie not enough living space and not enough storage space, then it will be a turn off.
First Impressions
First impressions count, so you should consider the 'curb appeal' of your property. It might seem 'corny' but adding hanging baskets or even window boxes improves the appearance of a house and gives the impression of it being cared for.
Hall & Living Room
Consider how people view a property. The Hall and Living room are usually what people see first, so these rooms should be welcoming and create a good impression. Some simple home interior decorating can make the hall feel inviting, light and bright. Add pictures and an interesting mirror to reflect some light.
Worn out seating? You don't need to buy new ones you just need to recover the old ones, or use throws in neutral colours with colour statemented cushions which all goes to improve the look for a lounge. Check the storage in a living room. If the kids use it as a play room then make sure there's a storage box to keep everything tidy when they aren't there. Put some sets of shelves up, perhaps in an alcove area.
Kitchen & Bathroom
The other most looked at rooms are the kitchen and bathroom. In the kitchen food is prepared and perhaps a place for entertaining so it should be giving the impression of being clean. The bathroom should have a relaxing feel and give the impression that you would be happy to unwind there in a relaxing bath.
When viewings take place people want to see at least a standard well maintained bathroom suite, so replace any discoloured bathroom fittings like a toilet bowl.
Landscaping
Where there is a garden but it's either unkept or paved, consider some landscaping. It doesn't need to be over the top and you don't need to spend a fortune at the garden centre, but just bring it up to the standard of what would be considered the norm for the area.
Décor
OK so you've seen all the property makeover shows where they make neutral coloured interiors. It's for a reason. Outdated or highly personal décor can put buyers off, so get rid of the purple walls, please. The ING Direct survey found that 1 in 6 buyers would be put off by 'clashing' colour schemes.
Standard of maintenance
If there's something that needs fixing, then get it fixed. You might have lived with it, but what will buyers think? I'll tell you, they will probably think "Oh look this is broken, cracked or flaky paint, what else is unkept or badly maintained?" If there's a list of things that need doing and you don't get them fixed, then at best expect offers to come in lower than you had hoped, or at worst expect far fewer offers and longer for them to be made. People want to move in straight away and perhaps make their own mark by painting a wall purple but at least they know everywhere is clean and well kept and it only needs a lick of paint to make it their home.