When it comes to making changes to your house, you want to ensure you are only making changes that will add value for prospective buyers. Whether you are looking to sell your house in the near future or just want to get ahead of the competition, I have crafted this blog to share my top 5 ways to add value to your home.
Whatever the size of your budget, one of these tips will help you add value to your home. I cover everything from simply redecorating your house to checking the structural integrity.
Decorate with high-quality materials
Although it is simple, the way you decorate your house can have a big impact on potential buyers. For example, if you have paint that is peeling off the walls or loose tiles or flooring, prospective buyers would be reluctant to put an offer in to buy your house.
When decorating your house, make sure you invest in high-quality materials as they will last longer, minimising the need to redecorate. I would also suggest sticking to paint for the walls rather than wallpaper as it is easier to work with if potential buyers want to redecorate. I’d also suggest using bright, neutral colours as they will open your space.
When repainting your walls, make sure you have prepped them properly beforehand to ensure you have a smooth application. As well as this, when redecorating your house ensure you have an efficient waste management solution such as a skip. However, make sure you research if you can put paint tins in a skip beforehand.
When it comes to countertops, I’d suggest investing in these as well as they will undergo general wear and tear over the years so you want to ensure they are durable. I would also suggest going for a simple sleek design, such as marble as it is always popular and easy to work with in terms of decorating.
Update your appliances
When it comes to adding value to your home, an easy way to do this is to modernise your home with up to date appliances and facilities. Although you will want to take smaller appliances with you, items such as dishwashers are a great addition to have built into the structure of your home to increase value.
Not only are they a big selling point but it also means that potential buyers won’t have to worry about measuring the space for a dishwasher, meaning there is extra storage space.
Another way to modernise your home is to add built-in storage solutions such as wardrobes and cabinets to free up as much floor space as possible. Once again this minimises the need for buyers to measure the space and potentially buy new furniture, making it a big selling point.
Tidy your outdoor space
Outdoor space is often overlooked when adding value to a home, but it is extremely important and can sway prospective buyers either towards or away from your house.
You don’t have to be particularly green-fingered when tidying your outdoor space, just simply mowing the grass and adding some plants to add texture and colour is a great way to make your garden stand out.
If you wanted to go the extra mile, I would suggest adding a decking area with seating to showcase the potential your garden has. This is also great for buyers who want a nice garden but don’t necessarily want to put in the work for it as it means you can up the price.
Add an extension
Extensions are one of the most obvious but effective ways to add value to your home. Extensions can be used for a multitude of things, therefore I’d suggest keeping it simple so it can be easily decorated and transformed in the future.
When building a home extension, make sure you have the essentials such as running water and electricity already built-in. For example, if you plan to use it as a dining room you won’t need running water, however, your prospective buyers may want to turn it into a utility room and not having running water for this could put them off.
Make structural changes
Although the interior of your home is important when adding value, don’t overlook the structural integrity of your house in the process. Many people have building surveys carried out before buying a new house so it’s important you do this as well to avoid having to bring the cost down.
Things like cracks in the roof or even rusty window frames are all structural components that could lower the price your house is worth. Fortunately, a building survey will pick up on things like this so you can solve the issues as soon as possible.
To sum it up
In summary, there are many ways you can add value to your home, but these are my top 5. No matter the size of your budget, at least one of these tips will work for you and your house.
If you are on a tighter budget, I’d suggest starting on the interior of your house as you can add value without spending a fortune. Interior design is also one of the biggest things buyers look for when purchasing a house.