Maximising your assets: increase the value of your home

Thanks to the recent recession, the days of buying a wreck of a house, doing it up over six months and

selling it on for a tidy sum are long gone. The market is slow, mortgages are harder to come by and buyers are scarce.

Subsequently,

there are two choices, either improve what you’ve got by doing up your existing

house, or pick up the pace and work a little harder to get real value from your

home.

So, if

you’re trying to sell your house or are simply seeking to get the best out of the

home you’ve got, what are the best ways to add value?

Major projects

If you want

to achieve maximum results, consider expansion. “Creating more space adds the

most value,” says Cindy Brown of Cindy Brown Home Staging. And there are

several ways to achieve this.

“The one

project that will add most value to any property is a loft conversion,” according

to Roz Lishak, creative director of Home Truths Property Styling, as this

creates the potential for an extra bedroom and bathroom. In a recent survey by

Ideal Home Magazine, Nationwide determined that this could add up to 21% to the

value of your home.

Even if

you’re not up for quite such a major project, Roz suggests that just “having

applied for planning permission and getting plans drawn up ready is a big bonus

when selling, as you’ve done the ground work and the buyer knows that the

potential is there.”

But what if

your loft isn’t suitable for conversion? You could consider extending into the

garden to add more rooms downstairs but, although this might seem like a good

investment, a recent survey by the Telegraph found that the average cost of

this kind of work is £35,000 while the average benefit in value is just

£10,000.

As parking

space is one of buyers’ top requests (according to Spicerhaart, the independent

network of estate agents), a much more financially rewarding option is to pave

over your front garden (estimated cost £650) and add off-road parking

(estimated added value £10,000). Or consider installing a conservatory as a

cheaper way to increase floorspace; this can add 4-5% to your home’s value and

is cost-effective, with a basic 5m x 5m model costing from about £12,500.

If your

house doesn’t have double-glazing, installing it is a simple way to increase

value. It costs around £7,000 but adds on average £7,500 so you’ll recoup your

costs and avoid putting off buyers who won’t want to do the work themselves.

Kitchens and bathrooms

It is a

much-touted truth that kitchens and bathrooms sell houses. “The kitchen and

bathroom are the key rooms when presenting a property, and a clean and

decluttered space is worth its weight in J cloths,” says Roz. But you don’t

need to spend thousands installing a completely new one: “upgrading the

existing cupboard doors, perhaps replacing flooring and, most importantly,

clearing all surfaces, is a painless way to bring a tired kitchen to life

again, with minimal expense.”

A new

bathroom may set you back on average £3,000 but will add about £4,000 to your

home’s value so, if yours is looking out-of-date, it is worth modernising it.

This is especially true if you still have a coloured bathroom suite as these

can turn off buyers altogether; after all you might love avocado but “your

target market should always be taken into account,” says Cindy, “selling is

about what the buyer wants to see, not what you as the seller like”.

Sprucing up

Most buyers

don’t want to do any work themselves straight away so sticking to neutral inoffensive

furnishings is important. It may have become a cliché but beige really is the

best colour to paint your house when you’re selling, as it allows buyers to see

it as a blank canvas, which they can put their own stamp on.

It’s best to

present clean, bright rooms with natural décor. Hide your clutter in draws and

cupboards to leave surfaces clear and to make rooms appear bigger.  “Most buyers make their decision about

a property within the first 30 seconds,” says Roz, “so I would advise all

sellers go and look at their property from the other side of the road and

imagine seeing it for the first time.” Ask yourself if your house compares

favourably with its neighbours. If your exterior light is broken, fix it; if

your house number is obscured, tidy it up; and if it all just looks a bit bare

and boring, invest a few pounds in a hanging basket to brighten things up – you

can even take it with you when you leave.

Quick fixes

If you

really don’t have the time or the budget to do anything more than a five-minute

pick-me-up there are still some simple things that you can do to make your house more

saleable.

Use

what you’ve got, says Cindy: “look at the accessories you have and how best to

use them”. Dress the dining table for a stylish dinner rather than the kids’

homework hour, put simple candles rather than a cluster of haphazard bills and

family photos on the mantelpiece and make all the beds, including the kids’.

Smell is arguably

the most important sense when getting a feel for a place so make sure any

bad odours are completely banished. If you smoke, open the windows and empty

ashtrays into the outside bin to banish the evidence and, if you have pets,

have a good vacuum to remove hair, empty any litter trays and, if possible,

banish your pet to a friend’s house for the viewing.

Remember

that you are selling a lifestyle. Make your home seem like the perfect

sanctuary with fresh flowers to brighten up key rooms and make (or buy)

just-baked bread or freshly brewed coffee in the kitchen to give a homely

atmosphere.

Finally,

making your house as tidy and clean as possible costs nothing except a little

time and elbow-grease so Cindy’s top tip is “clean, clean and clean again”.

Photo: Phillie Casablanca