5 tips to add value to your home

Should you renovate or not? When it comes to selling your home, this is a critical question to consider if you want to Increase home value

If you want to work your way up the property ladder to your dream home, you must understand how to maximise the value of your current residence.

Here are five of the best ways to increase the value of your home.

All quoted values are statistical estimates and are not guaranteed.

New or upgrade your kitchen

Spend £4,000, add £15,000.
A new kitchen isn’t just a treat for you, it can also significantly boost the value of your home. Putting in a new worktop, cabinet doors or floor doesn’t have to break the bank – it costs around £4,000 on average. But, it could add £17,000 to the value of a London property, or the FMB and The Guild of Property Professionals found it could add around £15,000 to the average home in Cambridgeshire.
Cream kitchens act as a blank canvas, meaning you can easily give your space a fresh feel by updating your cupboards in the latest colours

A new bathroom

You can also areate a downstairs loo – Spend £1,500, add £26,000.

A downstairs toilet is a big attraction to a variety of different buyers. Adding one will make your home attractive to young families with children, those that like entertaining and don’t want guests wandering upstairs, to older buyers who might be looking to future proof their homes.

So, turning wasted space, such as an understairs cupboard into a loo can add value to your home. This is a great project if you have a limited budget because for only a relatively small outlay of around £1,500 you could add around £26,000 to your home’s value, according to our research.

Or Make way for an ensuite – Spend £5,000, add £15,000

Another way to add extra bathroom space is to carve some space out of your master bedroom to create an ensuite. The job should take around 11 days but could add £14,525 to the value of the average London home.

Otherwise the best way to protect wooden window frames against wet rot is to apply wood preservative, paint or varnish regularly.

Put in new windows

New windows can make a huge difference, especially on properties at the lower end of the market. Double glazed PVCu windows are extremely easy to maintain, good when it comes to energy efficiency and one of the most secure options available. However, they are not always the best option, particularly when dealing with older, more valuable properties.

In period properties such as these, replacing windows like for like is probably the safest way to go. So, if your home has wooden windows that add to the aesthetic of the property, opt for wood when you make your replacements.

Add an extension or loft conversion

In general, loft conversions tend to be quicker and less disruptive than extensions. However, this is most certainly not always the case. A straightforward loft conversion to a space with plenty of headroom, to add a modest bedroom or home office, might take as little as four weeks, when you partner with a reputable company like Family Dormers.

Get planning permission
Securing planning permission on a property can be a brilliant way to add value to your home, even if you have no intention of using it yourself. Simply by having the agreement in place, your home will become significantly more attractive to buyers who are willing and able to extend or convert the property. For what it costs, gaining planning permission can be a great way to add a little extra to your asking price.

Upgraded electrical system

If you are living in an old home, there are potentially endless reasons why you would want to upgrade its electrical system.
Did you know that faulty wiring is the major cause of residential fires? It means that the older your home is, the higher the chances of it experiencing a potentially catastrophic electrical fire. A significant number of old homes feature the outdated knob and tube wiring, which not only lacks the much-needed grounded wiring, but uses unsafe materials whose insulation deteriorates rapidlywith time.