Increase the value of your home with home improvements

To get the most from your property as a financial asset, there are certain home improvements that once carried out can actually help to increase its value. Investing in your bricks and mortar can enable you to move up the property ladder or simply help you to gain more space in your current home to avoid moving costs.

Insurance Implications

Always make sure you have adequate insurance cover before carrying out home improvements. At MoneySupermarket.com you can compare and choose insurance policies which include legal cover and accidental damage should the work not go to plan.

Before starting any home improvements on this scale, check with your insurance company first to ensure that you are covered throughout the building work and afterwards.

Ways to add value

One of the best ways to add value and increase your home's selling price is to increase the amount of floor space by converting or adding rooms.  Any easy way to achieve this is to go upwards and covert the loft space into an extra bedroom and possibly squeeze in an en-suite bathroom, depending on the space. 

This is a great way to add space without too much disruption to the rest of the house while work is being carried out.

It is estimated that if you spent £20,000 on a good-quality loft conversion then you could add double this amount to the value of your home.

Another easy and quick way to extend your living space and add another room without too much disruption to the household is to build a conservatory out the back or side of the house.

However, make sure that the conservatory blends in with the style of the house and works with the existing space. If the conservatory leads off the kitchen, match up the flooring so that the space flows.

Adding a conservatory on to a house will add around seven per cent to its total value. Costs start at around £5,000 and can be as much as £30,000, depending on its size and the materials used.

If you live in a built-up area where parking is getting increasingly difficult, consider paving your front garden to create a much-needed parking space.

You may need planning permission and to have the kerb dropped, but concreting your front garden for about £10,000 could add up to £50,000 to the value of your home. This does depend, though, on your location and how sought after parking is.

When it comes to improving just one room in the house, concentrate you efforts on the kitchen to maximise your selling price and generally improve how you use the space.

Make sure that you get the kitchen professionally designed so that it is attractive but also practical, with everything positioned in the most efficient place.

The cost of the new kitchen should relate to the value of the house. For example, you will not get your money back from putting a £30,000 kitchen into a two-bedroom terrace worth £110,000.

Putting a suitable new kitchen into your home will increase its value by around 4.6 per cent and also create a great living space for the whole family.

How to lose a buyer in 10 days. Day Four.

Day 4: Display all your family photos

Place family photos, trophies, wedding portraits, children’s paintings and anything else that could divert attention from your home’s best features, well out of sight. Things like this can be particularly distracting for house hunters – when they look round your home they want to imagine their life there, which can be a lot harder if you have your whole family history on display through a series of ornaments, pictures etc. Instead, deliberately placing mirrors at certain points can help viewers to see themselves in your home, quite literally – as well as reflecting more light into your rooms to make them appear brighter.

Inspire yourself by looking at interior design magazines and pay particular attention to how the photographers stage their rooms for photo shoots – notice that the accessories they use are impersonal, but aspirational – meaning that they allow people to fantasise about relaxing in the ‘scene’ of the shot. Why not try replacing your personal items with a few props and accessories to help create a mood in a similar fashion?

Would you like to know how to take excellent marketing photographs to sell your home? Read our helpful article for more information.

Come back tomorrow for the next item on our checklist of house-selling ‘don’ts’.

How to lose a buyer in 10 days. Day Three.

Day 3: Ignore bad smells

It is a fact that people often fail to notice the smell of their own home because they have grown so used to it. The smell of your home could be a turn-off for buyers, especially if you smoke or have pets. Make sure that you regularly open windows to keep fresh air circulating and don’t overdo it with air fresheners – viewers may wonder what you’re trying to mask. If you smoke, consider smoking outdoors while you are marketing your home, and move ashtrays out of sight. It may also be a good idea to have your carpets and soft furnishings professionally cleaned.

Cooking smells can be homey, but not all of them. Avoid cooking stinky fish dishes or fried or greasy food before your viewings. It’s a cliché but simple aromas like clean linen, freshly brewed coffee, cut flowers or just-baked bread really can help sell your home. 

Come back tomorrow for the next item on our checklist of house-selling ‘don’ts’, or read more suggestions on how to prepare your home for viewings, featured on our blog.

Image: hinnamsaisuy / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

How to lose a buyer in 10 days. Day Two

Day 2:  Misrepresent your home

Misrepresenting your home can be really frustrating to potential buyers; they will feel that their time has been wasted if your advert claimed your home was something that it really wasn’t. Equally, you are wasting your own time too by attracting the wrong type of person to view your property. There is nothing wrong with using sales-y language to make your home sound appealing, but to actually lie on your listing is illegal, and as soon as the viewers arrive, it will be clear that the advert was not honest.

The same rules apply when you are answering any questions from your buyer in person – honesty is generally the best policy. Always seek legal advice from your conveyancer if you are unsure.

For more about this subject, read our article about the 1991 Property Misdescriptions Act, and how it affects you.  

We hope you’ll come back tomorrow to read our final update on how not to sell your home.

How to lose a buyer in 10 days. Day One

These days, homes can be difficult to sell, but they don’t have to be, you just need to be flexible and prepared to try new ideas and strategies. Buyers are naturally nervous to spend so much money and can sometimes be put off by small details, so we’ve written some examples of common mistakes to avoid when you are selling your home.

Day 1: Don’t clean up 

One of the biggest mistakes you could make when you have a house viewing is forgetting to clean. Before you put your home on the market, give your home a thorough spring clean. Buyers are likely to be extra picky, noticing very small details that may otherwise be overlooked so it’s important that your home leaves no areas for criticism.

An easy way to begin preparing to market your home is to clean it from top to bottom. If house hunters see dusty surfaces and smudges on windows, it may give them the uneasy feeling that if the house isn’t clean, it may not have been properly cared for. Appearances do count for a lot, so a bit of extra effort could attract a faster sale and a higher asking price.

Read our house-cleaning tips on our blog. 

Visit us again tomorrow for the next instalment on our list of home-selling blunders.

Image: Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net