Nearly 1,000 real estate agents cast their votes on which do-it-yourself home improvement projects will help sellers get top dollar.
HomeGain.com's 2009 Top 12 Home Improvements Survey Results showed that cleaning and de-cluttering was the easiest and most cost-effective way to make your home more appleaing to buyers. For as little as $100-$200, sellers could see as much as a 10x increase in their sale price.
To be clear, these are all projects that you can do on your own or with a little help, so you won't see replacing your roof or adding a deck on this list.
Most of the recommended projects come in under $500, with an ROI of at least 100 percent.
Even for some of the more expensive projects, like updating your kitchen for $1,500, you can replace the hardware and touch up the cabinets, just so that buyers don't see any glaring issues. New appliances are actually very cheap right now, and often come with free installation, so don't let an old fridge or dishwasher kill your deal.
The total return on investment for all 12 of these projects could total more than $20,000. For a median priced home, that's about a 10% increase in your sales price.
Check out the HomeGain HomeSaleMaximizer for customized recommendations in your ZIP code.
