Increase Your Property’s Value Without Breaking Your Bank

In an increasingly unpredictable housing market, many property owners hoping to make it on onto the next rung of the housing ladder cannot rely solely on the market’s rise each year. Instead many homeowners are making monetary investments to improve their home, making alterations and home improvements to add value and appeal so that they may make a larger profit when the time is right to sell.

For larger projects, loft conversions and conservatories are a safe bet, while in an urban area where parking is scarce, paving over the front garden can sometimes add up to huge £50,000 to your property value. Forbes have featured a number of common and desirable home improvement projects that don’t add the value of investment to your property’s selling price. In terms of larger building projects, recent research appears to support these findings; conservatories, basement and loft conversions, and the paving of front gardens offer the most value added to a property’s sale price. Planning permission is also a worthwhile investment to up an asking price. In a recent data collection by GE money, the average cost of a loft conversion is around £20,000 and will add an average of £40,000 to a home’s value.

If a conversion, extension or renovation isn’t a financial option you could consider a bridging loan, there are a number of lower cost ways to increase the value of a property. Building the character of a period property appeals to a wider demographic, and by replacing dated cladding, plastics and mismatched features with solid, neutral and well-made materials that fit the age and styling of the property is a sure bet in increasing property value.

“The restoration of original resin flooring, whether sanded, stained or polished with protective waxes can offer a versatile and durable elegance that looks good with almost any kind of interior décor.” adds resin flooring specialists Active Resin Flooring. While laminate flooring has improved in quality over the past few years, investing in the warmth and timeless appeal of real wood floors can makeover a property in just a few days for a considerably reasonable low cost. Coupled with period appropriate stair rails, wooden-paneled doors and fresh, neat tile-work, a home can be transformed to reach its highest possible selling price for a relatively small financial outlay.

The housing specialist at Realtor, Leslie Piper, says that in particular, houses listed with polished wooden floors are always advised to ensure that these are clearly featured and flaunted in any photos in their property listings.

Features That Decrease Property Value:

• Polystyrene ceiling tiles;
• Pine cladding;
• Internal stone cladding;
• Textured ceilings or walls;
• Plastic beams
• Mismatched period details such as old tiles, cladding or fireplaces;
• Flush doors;
• Windows that are out of keeping;
• Inappropriate porches;
• Conservatories with a flat polycarbonate room

Features That Increase Property Value:

Original or period style fireplaces; Fire Hearth Replacement

• Decorative mouldings;
• Panel doors;
• Polished floorboards;
• Appropriate style windows to match the property
• Installing banisters and handrails to match the property
• Knot-Free wood
• Concealed timber beams or beams concealed behind masses of black paint.
• Paint work – neutral or muted toned walls
• Large canvas prints

For more information on home investments, UK housing expert, Phil Spencer has some excellent advice for homeowners looking to increase their property value or call the experts floorsanding-london.net on 02036 978431