Yahoo Finance The best ways to increase your property's value
There is a variety of ways you can add value to your property to make more money when the time comes to sell.
Or perhaps you want to make the most of your own home without having to splash out on buying somewhere new, shelling out on all the exorbitant costs of moving house.
Whatever your motivation, you should always bear one thing in mind— it’s possible to spend more than you’ll see back in extra value on your home.
Do some market research first to see what the top value your type of home goes for in your area. There’ll be a limit to how much value you can add so don’t go over the top and budget wisely.
Once you’re confident with a budget, here are some top ways you can add value to your property.
Extensions
Adding floor space to your home is a great way to increase its value. Stylish, high-quality back extensions to the kitchen and dining areas, with plenty of glass to bathe the space in natural light and connect the home to the garden, are a highly sought-after feature of a property.
Extra bedrooms are also a bonus. If you can add a bedroom somewhere, perhaps above a garage, then a home becomes more desirable to families and chances are your property’s value will grow. Extra bathrooms are also attractive to family buyers because nobody wants to wait around for a shower or to use a toilet, and people value the privacy of an ensuite.
Conversions
Loft, cellar, or garage conversions are another great way to add floor space to a property. Lofts are an excellent space for bedrooms, and larger lofts may even cope with an ensuite, too. Garages are great for annexes, or just extending the living space on the ground floor, while cellars can make for indulgent entertaining spaces, such as a games room or home cinema.
Restructuring
In older homes, the internal layouts are not always suitable for modern living. Today, people want open plan. So restructuring awkward or closed spaces may increase the desirability of your home. If you have separate kitchen, dining, and living rooms, knocking through walls to open up the whole space can make the property feel significantly larger and more liveable. Light will flow better throughout the space and you’ll find yourself using all the areas more often.
Renovation
If your home is a little tired, the fixtures and fittings worn, the paint faded, and the kitchen dated, then freshening the property up through renovation will make a property significantly more saleable. Even the small things, like replacing cracked plug sockets, can go a long way to revitalising a home. Renovation does not have to be expensive. Sometimes, just a new lick of paint and a declutter will do.
Garden structures
One more way to increase the living space of a property is garden structures. They’re often inexpensive, but give you that extra bit of home you or a potential buyer might need, be it an office, a gym, a summerhouse, or whatever else. They’re cheaper than extensions and conversions, and more often than not are small enough that no planning permission is required.
Landscape gardening and the outside of the home
How a property looks from the outside sets the tone of a viewing. Properties with serious kerb appeal will attract higher offers from prospective buyers. If your home needs it, repaint the outside. Perhaps rendering or some attractive wood cladding would be better. Paint the external window sills, too.
Have the front and back gardens landscaped—people love picturing themselves enjoying a beautiful garden in the summer—so the external areas of the property are just as stunning as the internal spaces. The outside of a property is its shop window, so make sure it’s enticing.
