Want to boost the overall value of your home? It’s a lot easier than you might imagine. In fact, a few key updates and changes can really hike up your home’s value with minimal work and investment up front. Consider the following tasks to help increase the value of your property and build instant equity.

1. Clean Up the Landscaping

Talk to any real estate agent or home stager and they’ll tell you the same thing: curb appeal speaks volumes. And the first thing home buyers will see when they pull up to your home is its landscaping. A yard full of weeds, overgrown grass, and unkempt bushes aren’t going to cut it in the property value department.

Homeowners tend to focus more on their interiors when trying to make a good impression, whether or not they plan on selling. But what about the exterior? Landscaping is one of the top three investments that boost the highest returns. Even $500 spent in outside yard work can rake in $2,000 in property value when everything is said and done, so it’s worth the upfront cost.

2. Change Your Front Door

After homebuyers have made it past your landscaping, they’ll be greeted by your front door before they step foot across the threshold. But how exactly will they be greeted? Never underestimate the power of a front door when it comes to impressions and property value.

Within the first six seconds of entering a home, people will already have formed an impression. And the front door has a lot to do with it. A door that has peeling paint or rusted hinges can make the overall home look dingy. But the opposite is also true: a new, well-maintained, freshly painted door can make the home seem more inviting, and thereby add a little extra in its value.

3. Create More Space

Back in the day, it was customary to have a bunch of different, smaller rooms. But these days, sophisticated homebuyers – especially within the millennial age group – are looking for more space to use. That doesn’t necessarily mean they need more square footage; instead, what they’re essentially seeking is an open concept and optimal flow and functionality.

If your home is cornered off by a myriad of walls, consider knocking some of them down. Even if they’re load-bearing, you can still remove them and leave a decorative column post to retain support. Right now buyers want a wide open space, and kicking down a couple of walls can be an easy and affordable way to create it, and thereby add more value to your home.

4. Enhance the Lighting

Looking for a cheap and easy way to boost your ROI? Consider updating your home’s lighting, which will noticeably elevate your property’s appeal.

Anything from dimmer switches, to pot lights, to pendant lamps can make a massive difference in the look and feel of a home’s interior. Lighting of various types creates a sense of space and air, and also allows you to create a specific mood.

5. Make Minor Repairs

You’d be surprised at how much of a difference a few minor issues can make in the look and feel of a home. From leaky faucets, to chipped floor tiles, to scuff marks on the walls, these little flaws can make an otherwise nice home look tired. Before you even start thinking about more major upgrades like a kitchen renovation, address the more basic things first.

These little fixes can really go a long way towards property value. Even spending a few hundred bucks fixing small things around the house can increase the value of your property by a few thousand dollars.

6. Upgrade Your Flooring

One of the first things people see when they walk into a home is the flooring. What are they stepping on? Creaking hardwood? Uneven tiles? Dated carpeting? About 94% of professional real estate agents recommend investing a little money on floors when it comes to boosting property value. And you don’t have to blow the budget, either.

Depending on what you install, you can recoup twice as much in value compared to what you spend. If you are planning on installing a completely new floor, consider hardwood. It’s what the majority of homebuyers want, and have even come to expect when they’re on the prowl for a new home.

7. Up the Energy-Efficiency Factor

If the HVAC system in your home is aging terribly, and your utility bills are through the roof, it’s about high time you swap that system for an energy-efficient one. Sure, it might cost you a pretty penny up front, but the amount of money that it can save you in heating and cooling bills will all be worth it.

In fact, you can save as much as 40%. Recent studies have shown that energy savings add 20 times the yearly savings to the overall value of your home. Energy-saving systems and appliances make your home more desirable.

8. Tune Up the Bathroom

Just about every real estate broker says that sprucing up the bathroom is a sure-fire way to add some value to your property. But you need to be careful in how you upgrade it. Spending way too much money on unnecessary finishes and features could land you more in the hole than before you started.

Focus on the kinds of upgrades that the neighborhood calls for. Stick to the upgrades that are economical, easy, and fast. Simple things like adding a glass shower door or replacing an old pedestal sink for a more decorative vanity can go a long way in spiffing up the bathroom, and the overall impression of your home. Do it right, and you can expect a 62% ROI on a bathroom update.

9. Give Your Kitchen a Facelift

In much the same way as a buffed up bathroom can add value to a home, so too can the kitchen. In fact, this central space is probably the most important room in the home, so it only makes sense to give it the attention it deserves. Done properly, you can recoup anywhere from 75% up to as much as 100% on a kitchen remodel.

Just like with a bathroom remodel job, it’s important to keep your expenditures in check when it comes to the kitchen. For example, if the average home value in your neighborhood is $300,000 and you put in $70,000 into your kitchen remodel job, you’re essentially out-pricing your home. If your kitchen doesn’t warrant a total gut job, focus on smaller things that bring the most ROI, such as new countertops, appliances, cabinet doors, light fixtures, and handed and knobs.

10. Paint

Talk about maxing out your return on investment. The number one way to add value to your home with the least amount of money required is though a simple paint job. In fact, you can get back as much as 168% ROI with a simple paint job. Before you even think of listing your home for sale, look around and make a judgment call about whether or not the place could use a fresh coat of paint.

Any peeling, scuff marks or discoloration will warrant a new coat of paint. And if your walls are painted fuchsia pink or lime green, you might want to change it to something more neutral to attract more buyers, and thereby increase the value of your home.

Even if you have no intentions of moving any time in the near future, updating your home in various ways can do wonders to the value of your property. But before you take the hammer to nail, make sure you get some sound advice from a real estate agent or appraiser to find out exactly what features your neighborhood calls for, and the recommended amount that should be spent on each project to maximize the amount you can get back.

Welcome to the first full weekend in May! A convergence of events…from Cinco de Mayo (Thursday, May 5) to Polish Constitution Day and the Kentucky Derby (Saturday, May 7) to Mother’s Day (Sunday, May 8) and you’ve got the makings for an amazing Chicago weekend!  

Life is a Cabaret…This could be the start of something big! Friday, May 6 begins a celebration of Chicago Cabaret Week, where you can enjoy Chicago’s wide-ranging entertainment  for just $15 to $30 from May 6 to 16! Participating cabarets include Alliance Française (River North) The Cliff Dwellers Club (Loop) Davenport’s Cabaret (Wicker Park) DePaul School of Music (Lincoln Park) Drew’s on Halsted (Northalsted) Epiphany Center for the Arts (West Loop)  Hideout Inn (Bucktown) Newport Theatre (Lakeview)One Mother’s Day show, on Sunday, May 8, is Judy, Liza and More: A Mother’s Day Concert, at Le Piano, 6970 N. Glenwood Avenue, from noon-1:30pm. Real-life mother/daughter duo Nancy Hays and Mary Heffernan perform classic solos and duets, including a young Liza Minnelli joining her mother Judy Garland on the stage of London Palladium theater. For a complete schedule, show tickets, and venues, click here.

Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with a healthy run at Montrose Harbor on Saturday, May 7! The Cinco de Miler Runis a five-mile race along Lake Michigan, featuring a 3-story piñata, breakfast tacos, a free beer, and  live mariachi music. For registration and more information, click here. 

Wolność i Pokój dla Świata! (Freedom and Peace for All!) Chicago’s Polish Constitution Day Parade is one of the biggest in the country. The Polish National Alliance sponsors the parade, which celebrates the 231^st anniversary (1791) of the Polish Constitution. The parade steps off Saturday, May 7, at 11:30am on Balbo Drive and Columbus Drive. The Parade is followed by a public concert at the Chopin Garden, at 11th Street and Michigan Avenue, immediately following the parade. For more information, click here.

And they’re off! Watch forbig, fancy hats and mint juleps around town as the Kentucky Derby, the crown jewel of Triple Crown horse racing, steps off at 5pm on Saturday, May 7. River West’s Time Out Market Chicago , 916 W Fulton Market goes all-out with a Kentucky Derby Watch Party, starting at 3pm. They urge you, at this 21+ event, to “come dressed in your Derby Best for a chance to win a TOMC gift card, prizes for best hat & best dressed.” Mint juleps, whiskey sours & old fashioned specials. For more information, click here.

Immerse Yourself…in the artof Frieda Kahlo…and take Mom! Experience Frida’s artwork on a monumental scale accompanied by ravishing music at Old Town’s Lighthouse Immersive, 108 W. Germania Place. See how her art is the self-expression of overcoming pain and adversity. Tickets are available now for Sunday, May 8. For more information, click here.

Alison Moran-Powers and Dean’s Team Chicago

If you are past middle age like me, you probably get a little confused when you enter the lighting area of the big box store. We have more choices than ever. Gone are the days when incandescent bulbs were the norm, and your only choice was wattage. 

The lightbulb label now gives more information than ever. It gives you three key things. It will tell you the lumens. More lumens mean more light. An old 100-watt bulb produces 1,600 lumens. Watts used to be useful to determine brightness but now it indicates how much energy your bulb is using. An LED bulb uses only 13 watts. The last indicator is temperature. All light has a Kelvin temperature from warm to cool. Warmer is yellow, cooler blue or white. You can adjust as you like but here is a guide for light temperature:

Bedrooms need to be warm and soothing-2700-3000K.

Bathrooms need to be brighter so choose-3000-4000K.

Regular living spaces like bedrooms-2700-3000K.

Kitchens need to be clear and bright-3000-4000K.

Offices and basements need cool daylight-3500-5000K.

As far as choice of bulb one is at the top for energy efficiency and variety: LEDs. Compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs were all the rage a few years ago; remember the squiggly twisted bulbs? But these are fading fast as LEDs are so much more efficient for energy use and longevity. 

So choose your bulb according to lumens, wattage and Kelvin temperatures. That is enough if the bulb is used in a non-enclosed fixture. If you need a bulb for a ceiling fixture, you will need an enclosure-rated bulb. LEDs are very efficient but do give off some heat. Bulbs will indicate that they are enclosure rated.

Most older dimmer switches were made for incandescent bulbs and will not work well, or at all, with LEDs. You will need to change out these switches for LED rated ones if you need this feature. Hopefully this information will make it a little less confusing going down that bulb aisle. For a great variety of every bulb imaginable check out www.bulbs.com 

Kathleen Weaver-Zech and Dean’s Team Chicago

Leveraging is one of the biggest advantages that real estate investors have at their disposal.

In fact, real estate investing is designed with leveraging in mind. It helps first-time investors get started in real estate investing when there’s little money from the get-go, and is a keen way to multiply initial investment capital to help build long-term wealth.

When leverage works the way it should, it can significantly boost returns, and help you gain equity a lot faster so that you can turn around and continue investing in other properties. It can afford you with appreciation on 100% of the property’s value while others pay it off so you can accumulate wealth much faster.

But over-leveraging is dangerous, and can put your entire financial profile at risk.

While debt can significantly multiply your reward, it can also just as easily multiply your risk.

Owing too much in a specific property compared to what it’s actually worth and the income it’s generating can put you in a negative leverage and equity position.

Negative leverage occurs when the return portion of the investment property is less than the interest rate on the loan.

Of course, it’s expected that real estate values will fluctuate over time. But if you’re teetering on the edge of profit versus loss based on the amount of leverage you’re holding, it could spell disaster. Any significant change in the value of your property at any given time can have a major impact on your investment.

When values drop or when interest rates increase on your debt, your equity will inevitably decline. Depending on how much you owe versus what you own, you could wind up with no equity – or negative equity.

If you invest in commercial real estate, your loan will generally last between 3 to 5 years. That means you haven’t got much time to play with when it comes to paying down the principal portion unless any returns are put back into the loan. With limited equity on the property, lenders will likely refinance the loan at a higher interest rate, making it even more expensive to hold the investment property.

And let’s not forget about all the other expenses that could pop up unexpectedly, including vacancies, repairs, and other factors that could affect your profits.

Over-leveraging to invest in a property that has no immediate returns or exit is quite frankly a bad idea. If the property is not yet rented, or there’s no immediate buyer lined up, over-leveraging is simply like walking the plank, especially if you’ve got no reserves to cover you.

Let’s say you’ve purchased a property for $500,000 with a $25,000 downpayment. If the value of the property declines by 30%, it’s now worth just $350,000, but you’re still stuck paying interest and principal on the full $475,000 loan. And if the amount that you collect in rent drops too, you could be at great risk of defaulting on the property.

If you were using the cash flow from that investment property to pay off your loan on other investment properties, you could wind up with a whole investment portfolio in foreclosure just because of one bad, over-leveraged loan and a lack of reserve capital to back you up.

How Much Leverage Should You Use?

Before you agree to a loan to make a purchase on an investment property, you’ll need to decide what would be a safe area to stay in when it comes to using leverage to boost returns and avoid being upside down on your loan. Here are a few considerations to keep in mind.

Don’t bet on steep rises in appreciation. Lots of real estate investors have lost a ton of capital because they assumed that recent history would repeat itself. Even if property values in the area have been appreciating at a 15% rate over the past few years, for example, it doesn’t mean this trend will continue into the near future. Betting on this is risky business, and can lead you to buy at higher prices and borrow more than what the property may realistically bring in for you.

Put in a hefty downpayment. The higher the down payment you put forth, the less your outstanding principal will be. Sure, you can put as little as 3% down on a real estate loan, but this leveraging will likely run you into trouble if the income that your investment property generates is close to the interest rate you’re paying on your loan. If the market happens to soften at some point, or you experience a higher vacancy rate than you anticipated, you could find it impossible to carry the loan for the property.

Meticulously – and realistically – calculate your cash flow. One of the biggest mistakes you can make when it comes to real estate investing is overestimating your cash flow and being naive about the financial fallbacks that could realistically creep up and affect your returns. Make sure you’ve accounted for every dollar and every possibility when calculating your cash flow. If the margin between rental income and mortgage costs and expenses is slim, you’re putting yourself at risk.

Keep your long-term investment goals clear. Understanding where you’d like to be in 5, 10 or even 20 years will help you decide how much you should leverage to buy a property. Not only should you be looking at the real returns of a property, you should also think about whether you’ll be using those returns to put back in the property to pay down the principal, or turn around and purchase another property.

The Bottom Line

Levering is obviously a necessity when it comes to investing in real estate and reaping the most rewards for the initial dollars invested. In fact, it’s leveraging that allows massive profits from real estate investments to be made.

But using it prudently and avoiding huge loan ratios that your current financial situation cannot support is critical. While leverage is a tool that can help you realize significant returns, it’s got to be used with a good dose of skill and expertise in order for you to avoid losing your shirt.