Whether you’ve got plans to sell your property in the near future or you’re simply thinking ahead, it’s a prudent idea to give your home some value-boosting treatment at some stage. Not only will this make it a nicer place to live while you’re still there, it also means you can – in theory, at least – sell the property at a higher price at some point in the future. From renovations to extensions, here are some ideas on how to increase home value by increasing the appeal and the market value of your property.
Extensions
One of the main ways how to increase home value in which you can push that all-important value level as high as possible is to build an extension. Homeowners often do this to a kitchen or a utility room, or sometimes they add an extra bedroom or integrated garage. However, it’s worth considering whether or not an extension would take up too much garden space as that could lead to a decrease in value.
If you don’t have sufficient space to extend the ground floor or you’re concerned about reducing the size of the garden, you could consider a loft conversion. The average cost of a loft conversion is five figures, so it will be a considerable investment – but adding an extra en-suite bedroom in that way should increase the value of the home sufficiently so that the investment is recovered upon eventual sale.
Judging the market value of a home is always difficult. The best guide is to research the sale prices of similar nearby properties that have been sold in recent months. Any improvements made will increase value but it can be difficult to judge the impact on the price that they might have. That is why it is best to seek professional help when a property has undergone significant improvement. RVA Surveyors are on hand to help in this regard, and they can give you an independent and accurate assessment of how any extensions/major alterations will affect sale value.
Decorating
When a property’s decoration is neglected it can reduce its appeal for a potential buyer. That’s not just because it looks less stylish: it can also signal to a new buyer that other aspects of the property, such as the structural soundness, haven’t been attended to either. Even in houses which to some extent trade on their old-fashioned status, such as country cottages, some degree of modernization has taken place is often key to making a quick sale.
An advantage of decorating a place to a high standard does, of course, cost much less than building on another room or having the loft converted. YouTube has plenty of tutorials showing you how to do everything from replacing a carpet to painting a doorframe, and shopping cleverly at DIY stores means you can buy good value-for-money products. And if you’re looking to save even more cash on the decoration job, consider a skill swap. If you have a friend who’s a dab hand with a paintbrush, for example, why not ask them to give your living room a lick of paint in return for a skill you can offer them?
Renovating or extending your home to boost its long-term value may seem like a demanding job, but it doesn’t have to be. By doing your research first and working out exactly how to increase home value, you will give yourself the best possible chance of a successful, value-boosting home overhaul before you take the property to the market.