How To Increase The Value Of Your Home

By Author: Nancy Menzies
Total Articles: 5
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One thing you should remember when planning work that will add value to your home is that you should choose something that will be useful to you and your family while you live in it; with a slow housing market you need to make sure it is something you will enjoy living with if you have to hang on in the property for a while. Make sure that by spending money on the house you don't make the house too expensive for the area or the basic size of the home; a very expensive bespoke kitchen filled with top of the range equipment sounds like a good investment, but you should keep the total spend to a reasonable percentage of the value of your house, or you might not get your money back. That said, there are quite a few ways to increase the value of your home and not all of them are very costly.

Kitchen

A tatty kitchen or one that looks a bit old-fashioned can make the whole house look neglected and so a bit of a facelift in this room can make a big difference. There is no need to go the whole hog with an expensive refit and in fact with some kitchens, especially galley style ones, there is not much you can do to change ...
... the space available. One thing you can do though is look at the unit doors and the work surfaces. If they are very tired looking or are starting to peel or crack but the general layout and the cupboard interiors are all right, you could replace the door fronts and the work tops. Look around different kitchen suppliers and identify a trend that appears in them all. Don't go for anything too weird or wacky or it will be dated in a very short time. Go for classic and go for quality.

Bathroom

Unless your bathroom is really horrible, a new one won't of itself improve the value of your home by much. What will improve the value is an extra bathroom, so if you can add an en suite by not losing too much bedroom or landing space, then this would be the best way forward. An en suite only needs a shower, so you don't need a huge amount of space, but a two (or three) bathroom home is a real market winner and with not too much upheaval you can make a lot of difference. If you have teenagers, you will be glad you did. Building regulations do apply, but if you use a reputable builder or bathroom fitter they will arrange all that.

Loft conversion

Done well, a loft conversion can totally transform your home and if space is what you need, it is an obvious choice. Many loft conversion companies now can convert any attic space, even one with a lot of cross beams and so most homes should be able to accommodate one. For a reasonably low cost you can end up with two or more completely new rooms and the only space you lose on the floor below is the footprint of a flight of stairs, so as long as planning permission is not a problem then a loft conversion is an excellent way to add value to your home.

Conservatory

The best advice when choosing to add a conservatory is not to stint on price. If you end up with a horrible square box full of dead spiders and flies, red hot in summer and icy in winter, you will not have invested well. On the other hand, a bespoke conservatory with proper ventilation, heating and blinds can be a real adornment to your home and if you don't have a dining room in the main house it can be a really useful room as well. In the scheme of things, a conservatory is perhaps the most difficult thing to assess when considering whether it will add value to your home, so unless you really want to have one for its own sake, one of the other options might be a better plan.

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