The housing market in the UK is still recovering from its meltdown at the hands of the financial crisis some five years ago.
House sales are still nowhere near their boom-time peak as owners struggle to sell and buyers struggle to raise the funds to purchase a new property.
Many homeowners are instead choosing to stay put these days, making improvements to their existing properties in a bid to give them a new lease of life and increase their value. So, how can you add real value to your property?
Loft conversion
One of the most lucrative changes you can make to your home in terms of added value, a loft conversion can add up to £40,000 to your home’s price tag.
Where once there were tiles, there is now a terrace.
In many cases a loft conversion is not as disruptive as you might think, as most of the real work takes place on the outside of the building.
It may be a pricey project, but you’ll get extra bedrooms or bathrooms at the end of it – an attractive quality for a buyer.
Front driveway
Some homeowners would never consider paving over their front garden to create a front-of-house driveway, but in busy urban areas some off-street parking is invaluable.
This can be a costly procedure as you’ll often need to get planning permission to create the driveway, but it can add as much as £50,000 to the value of your home.
If you’re converting your front garden into a driveway, remember to look around for the best deals on garden clearance in London or your local area.
A paint scheme like this may be best covered up before you sell your home.
Repainting
By far one of the cheapest ways to add some genuine value to your home is to simply have it repainted. Depending on the house painting service you use, this can be as cheap as £100, yet could add up to £5,000 to the home’s value.
Not only that, but a repainted house looks well maintained and will immediately look newer and fresher than the others on the street.
Kitchen
They say the kitchen is the heart of the home, so it’s not surprising that this is the room which adds the most value to a property. If you’re only going to renovate and improve one room, make it this one.
It’s estimated that a new kitchen will add an extra 4.6% to the value of your home, while modern features like a wall-mounted TV are very attractive to potential buyers.
Garage conversion
The best way to add value to your home is to increase the living space, which is why loft conversions are so popular and add such a large amount to a home’s asking price.
Yet this is not the only way to boost living space, and certainly not the cheapest. If you have a garage, converting it into a living space will be far cheaper than a loft conversion but could add almost as much value.
