Adding Value to Your Home: What Can You Do?
Despite the tough economic climate wreaking havoc on personal finances in the UK over the last few years, there are still a number of ways that people can make – or at least invest – money wisely through home improvements. While it’s always important to ensure that there is a sufficient policy of buildings and contents insurance to protect yourself during this process, the fact is that people stand to make thousands through ever-desirable additions to a property.
Phil Spencer, the mastermind behind Channel 4 show Location, Location, Location alongside Kirstie Allsopp, is a man who knows exactly what’s necessary if money is to be made, or spent wisely and reflected in an eventual resale of a property.
Conservatories are perfect for any home
While Phil was clear to highlight how many people know that “the danger is that your conservatory ends up looking like something just bolted on the back”, such a living space that matches the style of the rest of the house is a great way to improve the value of a home. A conservatory costing between £5,000 and £30,000 can add up to seven per cent to the value of a house, so spend wisely if you know how much your house is worth.
Kick your car out of the garage and move in
Turning the garage into a living space is a great idea. “The fact is, 90 per cent of British garages don’t contain a car,” Phil continued.
“They are a wasted asset.” Just £10,000 could see you adding real value to a home – multiply the square footage by local cost per square foot to find out how much it ups your house price.
Prioritise the kitchen
High street companies know exactly how much a kitchen can add to the value of a home, so long as it has a triangle between the sink, fridge and oven. However, ensure the cost of your kitchen matches the house itself – don’t over or underspend on the asset. Phil added: “[A] new kitchen will add 4.6 per cent onto the value.”
Do your research and remember that not all investments have to be huge
- just be sure to take pride in your property when it goes up for sale, and remember to ask yourself if you’d be impressed by what you see if you were the buyer, not the seller.
One of the things that we found was that the porch added some extra value to our home. One of the other things was to just give it a good pressure washing – since in some of the US markets, a clean home means that you can achieve more than 10% on the resale value. Those little things can definitely add up to great value. Thanks for the post!
Emily Hunter recently posted..Your Three Motivational Quotes For Friday, January 27, 2012
Cleaning thoroughly is a very good idea when getting ready to sell, as is staging the home and getting rid of clutter.
The garage is unofficialy the household junkyard, where do you go with the stuff if you close it off?
BeatingTheIndex recently posted..Investing in Canadian Well Completion & Drilling Companies
You rent a storage locker, forget to pay rent, and see your stuff on Storage Wars.
I shall add bathrooms to this list. Bathrooms do add value to a house. Our garage is the play room – we have table tennis which we all love to play. I am the champ!
maria@moneyprinciple recently posted..Principled money posts of the week #11: the ‘day before Paris’ edition
Yes, bathrooms are a very important part of any home. Congrats on kicking butt in table tennis.
I went with the outdoor kitchen redo. For my taste it was a better long-term value than putting in a pool.
Sounds cool. I enjoy lots of grilling during the summer months myself.