By: Carol Evenson

When you decided to purchase a home, you might have made one of the biggest investments that you have ever made or that you will ever make in your life. Because of this, it is probably important to you to maintain the value of your home if you can. If you choose to put your home on the market in the future, you will probably want to get as much for it as you can. In the meantime, you may want to build equity in your home for other purposes. No matter why you might be focused on raising your property’s value, you could be wondering which steps you can take to do it. These are three effective ways that can help you raise your property values, so consider getting started with them right away. With a little time, effort and money, you can make your home more valuable than ever.

Make Energy-Efficient Improvements

Nowadays, many homeowners are serious about reducing the amount of energy that they use in their day-to-day lives. After all, not only can this help homeowners save money, but it’s a positive step that can be taken for the environment, too. Making energy-efficient improvements in your home can be a good way to save money and help the environment in your day-to-day life, and it can help you make your home more valuable and appealing if you put it on the market later, too. These are some of the energy-efficient improvements that you might want to think about making:

• Install solar panels. For example, in Arizona solar panels help you make use of the sun’s rays to power parts of your home. This can help you use a more earth-friendly forms of energy and can save you a lot of money, too.
• Insulate your home. Adding insulation will help you keep your home cozy during the winter and cool during the summer.
• Swap out old appliances and equipment with newer, more energy-efficient models.
• Install new roofing and windows that are more energy efficient.

Focus on Curb Appeal

The appearance of your home from the curb matters. You probably want your home to look nice so that you and your family members can be proud of it, and you might realize that your home’s curb appeal can impact your own property values and property values around your entire neighborhood. Sprucing up your yard might not cost as much or take as much work as you think, and it can make a huge difference. Focusing on planting nice, green grass or putting in desert scaping is one start; then, you can add plants and other touches around your yard to make it look its best.

Improve Your Kitchen and Bathrooms

Making improvements to just about any area of the home can help you increase its value, but some improvements are worth more than others. If you’d like to get the most bang for your buck when it comes to improving your home’s value, you may want to get started with your kitchen and bathrooms. These are two of the rooms that people spend the most time looking at when looking for a home, and they’re two of the areas of the home that you can enjoy the most if they are renovated. You don’t have to spend a ton of money on a renovation, but installing new countertops, plumbing fixtures and flooring in these rooms, for example, can help a lot.

These are just some of the many ways that you can focus on improving your property values. If you get started with some of these ideas, you can improve your home, make it more valuable and potentially save money now, too. You may also think of other improvements that can be made to your home after you get started with these ideas, too.

By: Carol Evenson, guest author

As a real estate agent, your success depends on attracting more clients. If you can grow your reach and appeal to more people in your market, you’ll see organic growth in your success. These tips may help you reach your goals for the new year.

Remember Growth is Relative

As a real estate agent, you’re an independent contractor with limited resources and trying to grow like a larger business may be a mistake. Instead, focus on your market and the people in your community. You should also use this status to your advantage. Being a small fish in a big pond means you can be more mobile, which will allow you to explore new opportunities more easily. It also means you have the time to forge genuine relationships with your clients. Combined, these two elements will help you grow professionally.

Remember to Budget for Everything

Another characteristic of being an independent contractor is that you’re going to have career-related expenses. You’ll end up going broke if you just pay for expenses blindly. The best advice is to create a personal household budget and a professional budget together, so you can see where all of your spendings is occurring. Things like home security may cost you a little money up front, but if it helps you sell the house and is within your budget, you can know where to spend your money. This will help you adjust your spending, so you’ll have more money for things like marketing.

Hire a Real Estate Coach

If you feel as though you’re not making the impact you hoped to make in the market, consider getting professional guidance. A real estate coach can help you with things like delivering a compelling pitch. They often offer negotiations training that helps agents excel on both sides of the transaction. While some coaches are expensive, requiring up to a $1,000 fee, it may be worth it. Many real estate agencies have estimated that sales have increased by a factor of 10 as a result of using coaches. If you can fit this into your budget, you may experience a healthy return on your investment.

Resist Turning Down Prospective Clients

When most real estate agents are starting out, they look for the brass ring. They will turn down those buyers and sellers who don’t represent a big commission. That can be a mistake because the commission isn’t always your only payoff. Those smaller fish may offer you a bigger deal in a few years if you make a positive impression now. They may also refer you to other clients, which will help you grow your reach organically. Especially if you’re new to the business, every client has the potential to offer something of value.

Remember the Importance of Communication

When people feel ignored by any business, their first response is usually to go to a competitor. For this reason, you should return calls and respond to questions at your earliest convenience. Making a client wait on something as important as a real estate transaction is never wise. The only exception is in cases when the client wants some information you don’t possess. Taking the time to research the issue is acceptable because your responses should always be honest and accurate.

Use Social Media to Your Advantage

It will take you forever to grow your practice if you’re not networking and marketing your services. Using social media is the best way to get your name out there where people will discover you. This is a free resource that simply takes a little effort and an interest in socializing. You start by creating a profile and sharing compelling content. As you begin to attract followers, be sure to respond to them and engage with them. Building online relationships helps you generate leads. When people find you communicative and personable, they will ask their friends to follow you as well.

Advancing in the real estate business requires passion, ambition, and tenacity. If you can develop a marketing strategy and stick with it over a period of time, you will see you reach consistently expand. It won’t happen overnight, but you will get there if you persevere.

Carol Evenson is an entrepreneur and professional consultant specializing in C-level training and business growth. She currently works as a real estate agent and seeks to give a hand up to those that helped her during her come up in both corporate and personal real estate. Contact her at carolevenson5@gmail.com