Using their unparalleled real estate and building expertise, Married to Real Estate HGTV hosts and spouses Egypt Sherrod and Mike Jackson have a long list of useful tips for making strategic home purchases and even smarter renovations. Sherrod, who is a powerhouse real estate broker and Jackson, a notable contractor, are known for transforming fixer-uppers and uncovering the potential of any home with a few upgrades. Just in time for warm-weather "renovation season," the power couple is breaking down design hacks, renovation advice, and providing immediate solutions for EBONY readers to increase their home value.

Renovation Season Tips

Add more space. Wherever you can, increase your finished and heated square footage. The larger the square footage, the higher your comparability for resale. Think about an unfinished basement, storage room or ability to enclose a garage. Those are great options to increase value. Also, adding a finished deck and even a pergola increases livable space outdoors. 

Wherever possible, add a bathroom. A full bathroom addition can increase the median resale value by 5.7% on average. So, if it's a $500,000 home, then you have increased its resale by $28,500. 

Outdoor livable spaces increase resale value big time. Extending decking or screened porches often show up on the appraisal. Adding a composite deck can be a solid investment and can add tremendous value. A high-quality composite decking material such as TimberTech, which gives you the look and feel of real wood, adds both aesthetic and can add resale value while requiring less maintenance over time.  

Boost curb appeal. First impressions are lasting impressions. Although it may not show up as a line item on an appraisal, power washing, painting, landscaping and exterior repairs always set the tone for a buyer before they ever enter a home. Studies show that the attractiveness of the exterior of a home can boost its resale price by 7% on average.