For most people, their home is their single-biggest investment. Smart sellers know that to get the maximum amount out of your current house, the adage of spending money to make money is true. The trick is to update and modernize without doing expensive remodels that eat into your profit. You need to calculate the cost of any improvements against your home’s potential market value after the project is done. A Cost vs. Value chart is a good place to start.

However, the best advice comes from your Realtor. They have seen it all; they recognize buyers’ wants and needs, know the local market, and have a vested interest in giving you honest feedback. If you really want to maximize your profits, check out the competition. Take a tour of homes in the neighborhood and other comparative houses to get a sense of their condition and the amenities they offer.

Here are a few tried and true things you can do to add value to your home that maintain that crucial return on investment.

General Maintenance and Small Repairs
Go through every room and look at the all the little things, both cosmetically and functionally that might need repairing. Fix that broken window, that ripped screen, and the cracked tile in the bathroom. Make sure all the locks work, all the door knobs are tight, and all drawer hardware is intact. Are there missing lightbulbs or dated light fixtures? Consider replacing the grout and caulk in the bathroom. That’s an easy fix that doesn’t break the bank and instantly makes a dull bathroom sparkle.

Is the paint peeling or the plaster cracking? Are there water stains? Few things can brighten up a room than a fresh coat of paint. This is one of the best things you can do for yourself, it’s painless, inexpensive, and easily repays your investment. Choose a neutral palette to appeal to the biggest audience. Remember, you’re not decorating to your taste, you’re decorating for the masses.

The Kitchen
There is a saying: “You’re not selling your house, you’re selling your kitchen.” It’s common knowledge that the two rooms that sell houses are the kitchen and the bathrooms. Standard thinking is that a complete kitchen remodel will net about 85% of your money back. And with the average price of a kitchen remodel being over $21,000, that may not be worth it.

A relatively inexpensive way to bring a kitchen into the modern era is to reface rather than replace the cabinets. A fresh coat of paint on the walls, maybe a new backsplash, and some new, modern hardware can take a dingy 70’s kitchen and bring it up to date. With the money you save, you could install new countertops or upgrade one of the appliances. When people see one high-end appliance, they associate the rest of the kitchen with it.

Flooring
Nothing will turn off potential buyers than dingy, stained carpet. In fact, it’s number five on Kiplinger’s list of things that buyers hate about your home. It’s well worth it to spend the money to replace the carpet if it’s had a hard life of pets, kids, and spills. Even better, if you have hardwood underneath, let it show.

The Exterior
First impressions count, and it’s all about curb appeal. It’s worth it to spend some time and money sprucing up the flower beds, adding fresh mulch, and replacing broken windows, screens or shingles.

Is your front door old, beat up, or dated? Wooden doors dry out and weather, older steel doors get dinged up, and both have poor insulation value. Modern steel or fiberglass composite doors are inexpensive and easy to replace, insulate better, offer more security, and give your house an instant facelift that adds to the wow factor. Also, your new front door may qualify for federal, state, or local tax credits. Want to eke out every penny? Paint your door black.

Smart Security
According to a Caldwell Banker study, 91% of real estate pros felt that they “would benefit from incorporating Smart Home technology into the marketing of a home.” Home security and smart technology go hand in hand. Think motion-detecting lighting indoors and out that is controlled from your phone, thermostats that know what temperature you like at any time, and smart door locks that recognize your face and unlock automatically for you. These items not only make life more convenient, they make it more secure, and buyers take note.

Complete these projects and you’re sure to realize your home’s full financial potential when it comes time to sign on the dotted line and hand over the keys. All it takes is a couple of weekends or repairing and polishing and a few trips to the home improvement store.