Let the sunshine in! Add more windows and take off dark-colored curtains. Replace them with light-colored, semi-transparent ones, and add skylights. Replace solid doors with those having windows.

The following areas bring the highest returns in fixing up foreclosure homes:

Kitchen
Bathrooms

Kitchen first! Why the kitchen first? The kitchen is a place where we prepare food and cook. Every time we need to eat or drink something we go to the kitchen. Therefore, it becomes a main activity area for everybody.

Create usable space! Add new rooms, convert attics, or basements into a living place. Create closet space.

If you plan to make structural changes such as enlarging a room, a good place to start is the kitchen.

Quality of Material: Unless you intend to live in the property, you should buy less expensive materials. If the foreclosure house is in a low to middle-income area, you don’t have to buy custom-made or expensive materials. Let the new owner select the quality material of his or her own taste.

Tip for selecting paints: The price of paint may be misleading. Cheap paints may require a second coat of paint, which will cost you more. Good quality paints may require only one layer of paint due to its higher quality and increased density.

Flat or glossy paint? Flat paints are good to hide damage on walls, while glossy paints do the opposite.

Spend more time on the kitchen and bathroom walls.

Generous painting: One final item that you really need to care about is the paint. Just imagine the amount of surface paint covers. Be generous when you buy paint.

It will pay off generously when you sell the property.
This also holds true if you decide to live in the home.

High-leverage added value: Following items add the greatest value to a foreclosure property:

Curb appeal. (Buy new front door or repaint it. Put plants and flowers in the front yard. Buy a new mailbox or repaint it. Get new home numbers.)
Ceiling fans
Lighting fixtures (brass lamps for front door and crystal/glass chandeliers inside)
Mirrors
Mini blinds
Security system
Microwave oven
Hot tub
New toilet seats
Faucets
Door knobs
Outside lamps
Garage door opener

You don’t need to spend a fortune in repairing, rehabbing, and improving foreclosure home. Estimating foreclosure repair costs is important before your buy the foreclosure property.

Concentrate on curb appeal, kitchen, and bathrooms of foreclosure property. Get more light into the house and be generous in painting to add maximum value to your foreclosure home.

About the Author: John Anderson worked as real estate agent, Realtor® in Florida and Virginia and publishes foreclosure newsletters on bank and government owned foreclosures.

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