How to Save Money Selling Your Old Home & Building a New One

Selling your home and building a new one is a significant decision and investment. The best thing about this move is you get money from your old house to finance your new house. When selling your old home, various improvements and repairs increase your home’s value, allowing you to attain the top dollar. Similarly, there’re many opportunities for reducing costs when building a new home to get you what you want without breaking the bank. Below are helpful tips for saving money when selling your old home and buying a new one.

Conduct Repairs

Before listing your home, it is best practice to perform necessary repairs. You are likely to sell your home for more money and faster when it is in good condition. Also, you won’t have to reduce your home’s price to cater for repairs or credit money back to the buyer.

Prioritize repairs such as fixing broken appliances, patching holes in walls and ceilings, repairing leaky faucets, replacing broken window glasses, and painting walls. You can reduce labor costs by performing some repairs yourself.

Finish Your Basement

If your home has a basement, transforming it into a livable space can add extra value to your home and fetch you good money during the sale. Finishing your basement increases buyer appeal, thus attracting more potential buyers and decreasing time in the market. Research shows that a finished basement has an ROI of 77.6%.

Consider using your finished basement as a selling point for your home – it can be used as a recreational space, home office, storage room, or even rented out to create rental income. Furnishing the basement can be as simple as deep cleaning it, painting walls, ceiling, and flooring, adding light fixtures, and introducing natural light.

Boost Curb Appeal

How a home looks from the street significantly impacts the number of potential buyers it attracts. A new front door, a fresh coat of paint on the exterior, washing the driveway and front walk, and cleaning gutters can greatly enhance the curbside appeal.

Landscaping plays a vital role in boosting a home’s value. A well-landscaped home increases value by between 5.5% and 12.7%. Therefore, be deliberate with your landscaping and mow the lawn, clean the patio, plant colorful flowers, and trim trees and bushes.

Shop Widely for Contractors

Building your dream home is exciting, and you can be tempted to settle for the first contractor you get. Do not make this mistake; vet different contractors based on their qualifications, services, and cost. Also, avoid choosing a contractor because of their fees. An expensive contractor does not guarantee quality work, while a cheap one may have mediocre services or hidden costs.

A good contractor should have the required training and experience to handle residential projects. Also, they should be accessible, available, and have a good reputation. Do not forget to ask questions about their specialty, subcontractors, and past clients. All this will save you money and avoid headaches and disappointments.

Prioritize Energy Efficiency

A good thing about building your family a new home is the ability to maximize energy efficiency. New homes have greater energy efficiency than older ones due to sustainable building materials, current energy code regulations, and better insulation. In fact, recent building codes increase the energy efficiency of newly built homes by 17%.

You can improve your home’s energy efficiency by investing in energy-efficient appliances like refrigerators, washers, ovens, and LED bulbs. Since heating and cooling account for a significant part of a home’s energy bill, it pays to invest in efficient HVAC systems. Home cooling, for instance, accounts for 27% of a household’s energy use in Alabama due to its hot and humid climate.

Selling your old home to build a new one can be exciting, overwhelming, and costly. Take time to find ways to increase your old home’s value, which fetches you a high price. Also, there’re countless ways to save money when building a dream home, including prioritizing energy efficiency and choosing the right contractor.