10 ways to do up your home and put £000’s on it’s value
Home improvements can breathe new life into your property and turn an older tired property into something new, exciting and ultimately of higher value. While we’d all love to spend thousands of pounds re-doing our kitchens, bathrooms and gardens it’s worth thinking what will add the most value to your property, especially if you’re looking at selling.
Adding an extension
An extension could be adding a little extra space to your kitchen or doubling the size of your house, but an extension done well that adds extra good-sized bedrooms or living space can add a lot of money to your properties value.
A loft conversion
As families get better and people require more space adding an extra bedroom can add around 10% to the value of your home. By adding a loft conversion you are not eating into your living space but you’re adding another (usually good sized) bedroom.
A conservatory
Conservatories provide an extra room in your house, and if under a certain size do not even need planning permission. A conservatory is an easy way of adding extra space to your property or getting a more open plan living space. Adding one can boost your property value by around 5%.
Adding an extra bathroom
Extra bathrooms can be a huge selling point in a property as more and more properties are gaining en-suites. By adding a toilet under the stairs, an additional bathroom upstairs or a master bedroom en-suite you can add value to your property.
A new kitchen
Kitchens are hubs within most households and they’re usually one of the first things that buyers look to replace, so if you can provide an attractive ready-made space then buyers may be willing to part with more cash to save them the hassle of replacing it themselves.
Knock down walls
Obviously you can’t do this with load-bearing walls, but if you have lots of smaller reception rooms consider knocking through to create a larger open plan living space. By doing this your rooms will be larger, lighter and more attractive for potential buyers.
Convert your garage into living space
About 90% of all garages within the UK do not contain a car so most of us are wasting potential living space. Proving you have off road parking converting your garage is unlikely to put potential buyers off but can improve your property value. By converting it into another bedroom with bathroom you’re going to boost your property value the most, but if the layout of your home doesn’t suit this then a study, playroom or workshop can also provide a boost.
Add Central heating
Adding, or updating an existing central heating system will add more to the value of your property than you’ll spend as it is considered essential by most buyers. If you already have central heating updating it can be done in conjunction with improving the general energy efficiency of the building by sealing drafts around the doors and windows and adding insulation. Make sure your boiler is in good working condition and consider possibilities such as new radiators, heated towel rails or underfloor heating in bathrooms to make your property stand out.
Fix superficial defeats
While things like peeling paint, sticking doors, dripping taps and loose tiles don’t directly impact the value of a property a lot of superficial defeats combined together can prevent it from selling at its optimum price. Small defeats can be quick and easy to fix and make your property seem miles more appealing to prospective buyers.
Update the bathroom
Bathrooms are another area which people quickly look at replacing as they are well used. If you have an old fashioned bathroom in an unfashionable colour (pink, peach, brown, avocado etc) then think about replacing it with a basic white bathroom suite which you can get for as little as a few hundred pounds. A basic look will have wider appeal for others. Ensure your bathroom has vinyl or tiles on the floor and that they are clean and un-chipped, and if your bathroom lacks a lot of natural light make it feel fresher by painting walls neutral shades or by replacing single lights with triple halogen units which are not costly.