Add Value To Your Home In 5 Steps
When it comes to selling up and moving on, it is important to consider what changes you can make to your property to add value and ensure the best return.
If you would like to work your way up the property ladder, making money when selling your house is the thing to focus on. Even if you plan on staying in your home for a few years yet, it is a good idea to keep home improvements on your mind and establish which projects make viable economic sense.
Studio4 Architecture based in Harrogate speak to people every day wanting to make home improvements, both to create a nicer living environment and to add value.
1 Identify Structural Problems
Before you start working on cosmetic improvements, its important to confirm any big problems.
Structural defects can throw a huge spanner in the works when trying to sell your house and are likely to be expensive. This is a good place to start as the repairs may cost quite a lot of money, but in terms of an easier sale and adding value, are essential.
Some examples of the structural defects to tick off:
Damp
Cracking walls
Leaking roof
Rotten timbers
Insect infestation
Collapsed flooring
Unstable roofing tiles
2 Loft Conversion
Loft conversions are an extremely good way to add value to your home. It gives more accommodation or living area than it takes away, remembering of course to leave space for the staircase. If you create an extra bedroom it can add up to 15% value of your home, even more if you can add an en suite bathroom.
Another great point is that loft conversions usually don’t require planning permission, (however if dormer windows face a motorway you may need planning.) it’s worth getting an architect to double check before you start.
3 Converting a Cellar
Turning your cellar into a living space can boost your property’s value by nearly 30%. This is another great option because like above, planning permission is not usually required as it qualifies as a ‘change of use’.
If you like the sound of this improvement but don’t have a cellar, make one! You could dig down and add footage to your property, although something to keep in mind is building a cellar does need specific skills so make sure you have the right team on board for the job.
4 Garage Conversion
Converting a garage into living space can make a lot of sense to some people, perhaps you don’t have a car or are happy for it to be kept outside? If this is something you are interested in doing, first check how much work would be involved in converting and what the expenses are.
If its viable check if planning permission is required or not, in most cases converting a garage would be classed as Permitted Development (which we wrote blog on recently), this means you won’t need planning permission but of course always check with your local planning authority.
It is estimated the value added from a converted garage would be 15%, you would have to weigh up the expenses.
5 Side Return Extension
The idea behind Side return extensions is to stretch your home into the path way that runs alongside the ground floor area of your house. this extension reclaims the small but effective space, making your internal home larger. Single storey side return extensions usually come under Permitted Development as mentioned above, but they would need to meet certain limits and conditions.
Side return extensions are usually quite small but make a massive impact to the look and feel of your house. They are a fantastic option for people looking to expand their kitchen and dining room area, they are also estimated to add a value of 15% to your property.
If you would like to add value to your home but are not sure which option would suit your house best, Studio4 Architecture would like to offer you a free consultation. We would visit your home and discuss what it is you’d like to create.
Studio4 were recently chosen by Threebestrated as one of the Top Three Best Architects in Harrogate, they select businesses by checking everything from reputation, history, local reviews, satisfaction, trust, customer service, cost to general excellence.
For more information and to book your free consultation, get in touch on info@studio4.co.uk or 01423 226 333.
