4 Exterior Home Renovations to Increase Your Home's Value

Maybe you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but you can tell much about a house at first glance. Improving this first impression is also known as boosting curb appeal, and doing so can have a surprising impact on your property value. While you shouldn't neglect your home's foundation or its interior, making a few small renovations to the exterior of your home can pay for themselves and then some.

Put in a Garden

Adding a garden makes your property look distinctive and gives your property more character than a simple grass lawn and a few trees. But you should be careful about which plants you use. Depending on the species and your growing zone, you may have to put in significant effort to either keep the plants alive and thriving or keep them from overrunning the rest of your garden and lawn. Unless gardening is your hobby, choose perennial plants that don't need too much maintenance.

If you know how to operate certain types of landscaping equipment, you can reduce your landscaping costs by renting your own skid steer and other heavy equipment to help you move heavy materials such as brick and stone to embellish the look of your garden.

Expand Your Porch

Whether your home has a large porch depends on the year it was built and if previous owners made alterations. Even though porch fashions come and go, a large, welcoming porch has a definite appeal. A porch can be enclosed, covered, or open. While an enclosed porch has the best appeal, and you can add the nicest furniture to it, this type also costs the most to create. 

Replace Your Home's Siding

Nothing makes an old house look young again like a fresh coat of paint or new siding. You may also discover siding installed over a perfectly beautiful brick or wooden wall. 

Before you get started, put in the research and find a reliable siding manufacturer or pick out the exact paint you want to use. While bold colors can help your house stand out among the usual pastels and make your home special, these colors can also make your home less appealing and lower its value.

Update the Features But Keep the Style

Every home from every era has its own architectural style and its own natural appeal, and the best way to improve your home's value is to emphasize that style and not try to hide it. On the other hand, older homes can also have problems of their own: water damage, rotting beams, damaged gutters, and lower building code standards. Repairing the damage and meeting contemporary standards can go a long way to boosting your home value, but make sure you keep the original architecture style in place as best you can.

Keeping up your home's curb appeal is like taking care of your face: You may not spend much time looking at it, but it can have a large influence on how other people respond to you. Whether you're selling or flipping a home, or you want a better value for a new mortgage, exterior home renovations can be a powerful investment strategy.