Six tips to boost the value of your home
Feature
by Ruth Jackson
Space has overtaken location as the first and foremost concern for homeowners for the first time in years, according to new research.
Bigger rooms topped the list of the most important criteria when shopping for a new home, according to a survey of 2,000 homeowners by ratedpeople.com, a website putting consumers in touch with trusted trades people. And one in six people are dissatisfied with the size of the rooms in their home.
However, many people aren't in a position to move home at present due to the stagnant property market and the prohibitive cost of moving.
"Faced with a difficult housing market, homeowners should be looking at what they can be doing to improve their current home - and where they can add value - rather than moving on," says Jonnie Irwin, spokesperson for ratedpeople.com.
How to add space and value to your home
1. Extensions
"A well-planned extension nearly always adds value," says Irwin. "But look at house prices in your local area to gauge how much value another bedroom will add to your property – be careful not to overdevelop."
2. Conservatory
If you need more space another option is a conservatory. They can be a quick, cheap way to boost your home's appeal, and generally you don't need planning permission to build.
3. Planning permission
If you are worried about paying for planning permission – typically around £300 - and not getting approval, do a little bit of research before you submit your plan. "Look at the other properties on your street, this will give you an idea of the type of projects that are likely to get planning permission as precedents may have been set by your neighbours' developments," says Irwin.
4. Internal changes
Before you fork out for an extension, consider whether you can increase the space and potential of your property by changing the internal layout instead. Removing or moving internal walls can make a big difference at a much smaller cost than an extension – just don't start swinging the sledgehammer until you've checked whether your target is a load-bearing wall.
5. Side extensions
Side extensions may not add much floor space but they are a lot cheaper and can make a big difference to how you use your space.
6. Gardens
Don't destroy your garden. "Building an extension at the expense of your garden can actually reduce the value of your home," warns Irwin. "Outside space is always desirable for future buyers – it's important to get the balance right."
DON'T DO THIS...
While some home improvements may not add much value to your home - often just breaking even - there are other changes that could actually devalue your home.
- Losing a bedroom in your property, for any reason, will devalue your house. If you're considering losing a bedroom in order to create a bathroom or study, think again.
- Garish and 'unique' kitchens and bathrooms will have a detrimental effect on value.
- Swimming pools or jacuzzis are unlikely to cover the installation costs.
- Decoration needs to be neutral - just because you love bright colours and patterns doesn't mean prospective buyers will.
Your estimate of Solar Panels is way off, more like £11 - 13,000
Thanks for this useful report. I had been considering turning our smallest bedroom into a larger bathroom, which would have meant losing one bedroom. I think i've now decided not to bother. It would be good to know just how much we'd lose though - because if the loss of a bedroom and associated house value was offset by the convenience of a larger bathroom then I might still consider it. Your article was a great place to start though - thanks again.
TJ, it says "...tidying up the garden will make your home far more appealing," maybe you didn't read the article.
Not sure about the Conservatories bit all the houses I have sold increase the value not break even think you might need to get your facts right
although improvements may not always add value, it could be your improvement may be the selling point that sold your property over the competition
I would like to add an extra garage with bedroom over for £5000 where can I get that done?
solar panels are near 11,000 to 16,000 and landscaping the garden is very important to most people when buying the house.
Under "don't do this" there should be "Don't try to do things 'on the cheap'". The value-adding advice is great but a botch job - shether done DIY or by a supposed professional - will reduce the value of your home.
Hey RROWELL, I have read all these replys and saw yours. It made me feel sad for you because I can tell from your words, you are feeling down and so much around you is making you down. I was once - big time. Stcuk with a property - not easy to sell, things around we're just not good. I did turn it around - I got fit, worked hard, thought positive and made new friends. All hard to do and keep up, but put yourself out to do this and you will turn things around. and do it for 6 months. It will work! Good luck.
I love my conservatory so much that I would never now buy a house that didn't have one, or didn't have the garden space to build one on, as I did when I moved in a few years ago. It is like being able to 'sit out in the garden' whatever the weather, and the light is wonderful! Of course you have to have a reasonably nice garden to look at!
While some of this advice may be true for London properties , much of it is not applicable to other areas, and pricing is highly inaccurate. As has already been commented upon, the idea that a standalone garage with bedroom over it can be built for only £5000 is just ridiculous, as is the estimate for a loft conversion, and the suggestion that a conservatory cannot increase value.
In fact, for most people, a loft conversion is the easiest and cheapest way to increase space, and especially so if you only have a 2 bedroom house. Not only that, the Government and most local authorities positively encourage loft conversions. I did one 3 years ago. On completion I rented out the loft room, and have already recovered my entire costs. I also fail to see how a second bathroom will add value unless you have more than 3 bedrooms. As for a garage conversion, of course it can add to value as long as there is alternative parking. That is why so many people do it!
I've just had an estimate for Solar panels 4kw system 16 panels for £10,000. It pays to shop about.!!
In my area there is a carpenter/kitchen fitter who replaces doors and work surfaces in kitchens. The cost is reasonable and the workmanship is excellent.
My kitchen now looks really good and is admired by all.
Why not ask around your area to find out if there is similar?
I agree.......we added a lovely Conservatory to our "bog-standard" 3 bed bungalow. Admitedly, we also added an additional room at the back, but the quality Conservatory was what clinched the sale of the property as it made it stand out from the other "duplicate" bungalows in the Close.
There seems to be a lot of incorrect advice out there, when it comes to adding Conservatories. If they are done to a high standard and can be used as additional rooms/storage space etc, they can add value and most certainly can clinch a sale.
Some good ideas here. I aint got much money just now as im doing a degree at uni, but i been out tidying the exterior of my house this summer. I bought some ladders and have been up re-mortaring the ridge tiles on my roof, re-applying sealant to my windows, re-painted my front door, cleaning and repairing my gutters etc. People should have a go themselves(with a little planning), and stay on top of the maintenance. Will save you money in the long run. Good luck everyone.
Hi, I think the number of bedrooms you have needs to be considered. We had three reception rooms downstairs so we changed one into a bedroom and then made the small bedroom into an en-suite. When selling a lot of people now want an en-suite so we think what we did paid off. Its so lovely when you have children to have your own private space. We then decided to change our garage into a bedroom and added an en-suite - this was described as a potential granny annexe which also attracted a lot of interest. But I think you need to have a minimum of 4 bedrooms to make this decision work, and reasonable reception space that you can sacrifice. En-suites are certainly attractive, and the USP (unique selling point) if in a road of many houses the same !
Good advise but didnt we all know this stuff anyway? Its not rocket science that a house with an extra room will be worth more than one less !
It also pay's to make sure your solar panels are of a good quality as cheep is not always the best!!
What is important when buying Solar Panels is the quality of your system as cheepest is not always the best.There are many different brands out there all competing with each other and yes the cheepest sounds very tempting but beware!!
I agree that no matter what you do to your own property if you are unlucky enough to live near properties that are badly maintained, you are stuck. I live in a lovely quiet road but recently one house sold and the new owner has decided to let it, He doesnt look after it at all and it is an eye sore. Unfortunately all of us in the road will nopw have problems selling our houses because of this.
Does anyone know if you can do anything about private land lords?
We have a 4 bedroom house (2 rooms are 12ft square, master bedroom with ensuite that we don't use is only 11 ft square and a further 8ft square room)
We were considering moving the bathroom into the small bedroom, the ensuite into the existing bathroom and the master bedroom using the additional space that the ensuite currently takes up.
Would this devalue our house then, even though the smallest bedroom 4 is only big enough for a baby's cot?
We had 14 solar panels fitted in November, at a cost of just under £8000, plus a voluntary contribution to the local transition group which had negotiated a discount for bulk purchase (9%, I believe). We are lucky in that our garden faces SSE and so far, 90 days down the line, the energy company owe us around £150, not including what we have saved in electricity bills (washing machine etc. are on timers to come on during the day). Bearing in mind that it is winter and some days we have produced less than 1 kWh, we easily expect to have recouped our investment in around 7 years. Our friends have the misfortune of having a tree shading their panels and so have produced between 1/2-2/3 the amount of electricity that we have, but are still very happy as they are saving on their bills. We would definitely recommend the investment.