Even if you aren’t planning to sell your home any time soon, it helps to know that your hard work is going to pay off in the long term. While some home improvements will do very little for the value of your home, there are a few tasks that will help to attract more interested buyers and could add a lot more value to the selling price.
While decorating your home with new carpets and a fresh lick of paint might help you to sell it faster, these changes are unlikely to have any impact on the final selling price. In most cases, buyers want a blank canvas to project their personality onto. So instead of spending money on things that won’t bring a return, here are 4 things you could try that will add value to your home.
Upgrade your boiler
You might be surprised to learn that your boiler could be the key to increasing the value of your home. It might be the last thing on the seller’s mind, but buyers are wary about homes with boilers nearing the end of their life. Moving into a property with a brand new central heating system offers instant value to the buyer.
A new boiler should last at least 15 years, so it’s a weight off the mind of the new homeowner. With regular services, they will also be able to keep the warranty intact, so they could be covered for much longer. If your property has an ageing boiler, consider a central heating upgrade (boiler and radiators included).
TIP: The central heating grant gives you access to a range of leading boiler and radiator brands and to install in your home. Warma UK has helped thousands of customers improve their homes’ energy efficiency and reduce their energy bills all with the help of government backed heating grants.
Focus on curb appeal
When updating a home, so many homeowners focus solely on the interior. But when looking for a new home, we all know that first impressions matter. How your home looks from the street is a matter of importance when selling your home. A new front door, repainted brickwork, new plantation shutter blinds and a landscaped front garden will help you to attract buyers looking for a finished product. They will typically be willing to pay more for a home that is ready to move into.
Add more functional living space
Rather than taking on the cost of building work, look for ways to add more functional living space to your home without laying a single brick. Garages can be converted into game rooms. Basements can become home cinemas, a home office or utility room. And attics are perfect for creating a larger master bedroom with ensuite.
This is a great way to squeeze more value out of the existing space in your home without committing to building extra rooms. Adding an extra bedroom to your property could increase the value of your home by up to 10%. And if you can fit an extra bedroom in the attic conversion, this could add 5% to the value.
Apply for planning permission
Think about all of those “one-day” projects that you never managed to get around to. Building that conservatory extension, the annexe office at the end of the garden, or even splitting your property into two separate dwellings. If you want to add value to your home, apply for planning permission to get these projects started.
Astute property developers will see this as a ripe opportunity and it will allow you to add a little extra to the asking price. If you have a plot of land with your property, getting planning permission and presenting this with architectural drawings could be just the thing you need to capture the attention of the right buyer is. All you need is a little imagination and the patience to deal with your local planning authority.