The best ways to add value to your home

The best ways to add value to your home

If you’re thinking about increasing the value of your property, whether for an immediate sale or in the future, there are lots of options available, from expensive building projects to more low maintenance tweaks.

Is it worth improving your home before selling?

Yes, especially if the property market is slow and making your home stand out to buyers is challenging. If you have the budget for making changes, you could add significant value to the sale price of your property – but you always have to weigh up the cost of building work against what you will realistically gain.

Which home improvements can add the most value?

Create more usable living space

Convert the loft

Loft conversions are convenient ways to add an extra room to a property by utilising existing space. Turning an attic into a bedroom, playroom or home office is a great way to immediately add significant value to your home. This will depend on the loft space you have, and whether any alterations are made to the roof line. If there is potential to convert a loft into a double bedroom and an en-suite bathroom, you could add 10-15% to a property’s value.

If your loft was previously used as a storage area, you will need to do some decluttering or decide where to find an alternative storage space. Loft conversions do not need planning permission if they meet certain criteria.

Add an extension

Perhaps the most important way you can add value to your home is by adding an extra room – either by using existing space or by extending it. You will need to check if planning permission is needed for extensions or conversions in your property. Conservatories are popular types of extensions, because they are seen as ‘permitted development’, so generally do not require planning permission. A well-built conservatory can add around 5% to the value of your home.

Create an additional bedroom or bathroom

Extra bedrooms or en-suite bathrooms are often seen as the easiest ways to add value. It is estimated that turning a 2-bed terrace into a 3-bed property could add 10-15% to the market price. Adding an en-suite bathroom is a popular way that homeowners look to add value, because they can use the existing floor space of a bedroom. An en-suite might add up to 5% to a property’s value, so you’ll need to judge whether it is worth the cost, which can be up to £10,000.

Make better use of a garage or unused room

Repurposing a garage has the potential to add value to a property, but you should be aware that some new uses will have more impact on value than others. It would also be very rare to turn a garage into a bedroom, unless you were creating an annexe for a family member, and that would be a far more expensive project. It’s more common to convert a garage into a home office, gym or playroom. For example, a home office could add 7-10% value to a property, given the rise of home and hybrid working in recent years.

Improve the rooms that matter most to buyers

Update the kitchen

The kitchen is often seen as the heart of any property. Many buyers look for the perfect kitchen when searching for a new home, and valuation surveyors place a great deal of importance on it. But there is no need to install a completely new kitchen, unless you feel that your kitchen is so outdated that it is bringing down the value of your property.

You could look at making updates to your kitchen so that it becomes a more attractive space, such as changing the cupboard and cabinet design, renewing the worktops and installing new lighting and flooring.

Refresh the bathroom

Bathrooms are regarded as being less important than kitchens in terms of adding value to properties. At best you might be able to add a small amount of value. So, if it’s a choice between a new kitchen and a new bathroom, and you have the funds for either, choose a kitchen. However, it does cost less to replace old baths, sinks and toilets than put in a completely new kitchen, so you will have to judge whether it is worth the expense.

Add practical features such as storage or a downstairs toilet

Adding a downstairs toilet is often seen as one of the most cost-effective ways to add value, because in 3-bedroom properties it could add up to 5% to property value. Installing a new toilet might only cost £3,000-£4,000, but in a £250,000 house this would equate to a potential increase of £12,500 to the market price.

Make your home more efficient and easier to maintain

Improve insulation, windows and heating

Making changes to your home’s energy efficiency can have a knock-on effect on its value. Every property in the UK must have an EPC (Energy Performance Certificate), which gives the property a banded energy rating. A property that moves up a band can achieve a ‘green premium’, and the more bands a property jumps, the higher the difference in value can be. This can be from making upgrades to your loft insulation (bringing its depth up to recommended levels), installing double glazing throughout a property, or installing a new condensing boiler.

Complete essential repairs

Make sure you fix any of those issues that would be seen as a negative by a potential buyer – the door or gate that doesn’t quite close, the broken roof tiles, the ceiling spotlight that needs replacing. They are relatively cheap to resolve and might make a difference to how your property is immediately perceived.

Address damp, leaks and visible defects

You should make it a priority to address any leaks, plumbing issues or anything relating to damp or mould. Fixing them won’t increase your property’s value, but if nothing is done about them they will be picked up in a buyer’s survey and could lead to offers being withdrawn or a renegotiation of the sale price.

Low-cost ways to make your home more appealing

Improve kerb appeal

You might not be able to afford to make significant alterations to a property, such as a new bedroom or kitchen, but one of the most cost-effective things you can do is improve the first impression it makes on a potential buyer. Giving your front door a new lick of paint, for example (neutral pastel colours are very popular), tidying up the front garden, putting colourful pot plants outside, creating feature lighting outside the house, cleaning the windows and pressure-washing your driveway – these are all simple changes that can make a big difference to whether your house sells.

Redecorate and refresh tired areas

Bold interior colours might make your home unique, but they won’t be to everyone’s taste. It is better to play safe and repaint any rooms in neutral colours if you think they will have a negative impact on people’s perceptions. White or magnolia are always preferred colours. Any rooms that have a tired look – walls where the paint is starting to fade or discolour, or wallpaper that needs replacing – can be given a quick makeover with a fresh coat of paint.

Declutter and improve the sense of space

If your property is full of clutter, this is unlikely to make a good impression. Rooms seem smaller the more items they contain, so putting things away – either temporarily or for good – will help with the impression your property makes. Potential buyers don’t want to see living rooms heaving with books, ornaments and children’s toys. Plus, other people may have slightly different ideas about what constitutes ‘clutter’. It is always better to be as minimal as possible.

Enhance lighting and natural light

There are a few tricks you can do to enhance the light in a property, especially in darker rooms or places that don’t get too much natural light. A cheap solution is to hang a mirror opposite a window, to give the illusion of more light in the space; a more expensive one is to install roof lights over a dark flight of stairs or hallway. Try swapping a thick set of curtains over a bay window for a thinner pair that lets more sunlight into a living room.

Tidy up the garden

Outside space should be clear, with the lawn cut and giving an impression of being looked after. Collect dead leaves and dispose of them, clear weeds from paths and cut back overhanging branches from trees, especially where they could block access or natural light. Give any decked or timber surfaces a new coat of varnish or protection, and pot out some fresh flowers.

Which home improvements may not be worth the cost?

High end landscaping

Everyone wants different things from a garden, so one person’s idea of an attractive garden design may be completely inappropriate for the new homeowner. If you are thinking of selling, now is not the right time to make fundamental differences to the landscaping of your garden. The most appealing type of garden to a buyer is a blank canvas, and families especially want plenty of uncluttered green space.

Swimming pools

Possibly the last word in residential luxury, swimming pools might splash a little ‘wow’ factor into a property marketing blurb. However, they are practically a harder sell. Outdoor pools are really only usable for 3-4 months a year in the UK (if you’re lucky). In the winter they can get dirty and unsightly. Indoor pools can be used all year round but are expensive to maintain. The space they take up would be better used for living space or another bedroom.

Home theatre rooms

Home buyers are looking for rooms that maximise practical space – so only the most die-hard movie buff is going to appreciate having a whole room dedicated to watching TV or films. If that room could have been a bedroom, it is space wasted and money lost, especially if people are upsizing. This could apply to any room given over to a hobby or interest, like gaming or a home gym. If you do have a room like this in your house, it will pay to convert it back to its original use.

Contact your local branch and find out how much your home could be worth with a free valuation

Looking to increase the value of your home? See how haart can help you sell and get the best possible price for your property.