One of the issues I run into with clients is the costs of upgrades for their homes. They want to sell at top dollar, but they have issues with outdated aspects of their homes or the expensive upgrades prohibit them from making the changes. It happens all the time.
I just flipped a condo that had these very issues. The needs of the unit were high and the profit margin on the flip could be low if I did all of the upgrades. In the course of doing the renovation, I stumbled across multiple ways to give the home the pizazz it needed to make it more valuable without breaking the bank.
There were two areas that really bothered me when I took on the project. The areas that didn't bother me were painting and flooring. Those two areas can transform a home quickly and on a pretty good budget. Of course, flooring can vary, but it is something that can be done inexpensively and still help transform a sad looking home into a happy home.
In this condo, the kitchen and the HVAC bothered me. The HVAC was old, and even though it worked fine, it was going to draw attention to itself because of age, and the kitchen just wasn't sexy. Actually, it was just sad. Previous homeowners had done things to improve it, but they just didn't.
While I was doing other things on the unit, I stumbled upon a brand new HVAC system at a Habitat Restore for $350. That solved one problem. The kitchen needed a lot more work. I had contractors come by to give me bids on the flooring and they were high. In the process of deciding on flooring and 
working on other aspects of the unit, an auction came to town with home improvement items. I was able to buy enough ceramic tile for four important areas of the condo for 60% less than the bids. I bought the tile, installed it myself over a weekend and it turned out amazing.
That still left the cabinets, counter-tops and lighting in the kitchen. The previous owners had installed faux brick for a back-splash and not only was it installed poorly, it darkened the room. I was determined to rid the kitchen of that faux brick, but what would I replace it with. And beyond that, what about the counters?
By happenstance, my office administrator had a friend resurface her vanity tops with a product from Rustoleum. That started my wheels turning and I soon found that Rustolem also makes a counter-top transformation product. I bought it, installed it and it completely changed 
the look of the counters. I added some better lighting, tiled the floors and added a subway style back splash and boom, a new kitchen.
Changes do not have to cost a fortune and they can be as simple as adding a few lights or resurfacing a counter-top. There is always a way to make a home more desirable, and it doesn't have to cost a fortune.
Resurfaced counters
Subway backsplash
Recessed lighting over cabinets and sink and ceiling light
Ceramic tile floors
Less than $1000 in changes
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