Should
you Improve
or move?
A
well planned home improvement project may add to the sales
potential of your property whether you sell immediately or a
few years down the line.
What
makes a property saleable? Estate agents have their own
opinions as to what determines value, but location and
neighbourhood are very important factors and a little research
into other properties in your area will give you an idea of
the ceiling price and what you can expect to get for your
house.
Prime
spot or not, however, if you are planning to sell, bring your
home up to a 'reasonable standard' before you put it on the
market, and that means at least making it look better than the
other properties in the road
Under the
surface
Don't
ignore 'unseen factors' when selling a home. Up-to-date damp
proofing, tidy guttering, efficient drains, good pointing,
secure roof tiles, a well-planned garden - there are many
factors that may persuade a buyer to put an offer on your
house
rather than next-door's.
Adding on
But
if you are staying put for a few years before moving on,
anything you do to give your home additional living space will
make it more appealing and could add more than 10% to its
value. Having a garage will definitely draw them in, adding
10-15% to the property value and central heating can add 15%.
Cleanliness
is next to profit and according to the Nationwide, having a
second bathroom may add as much as 9% to the value of a
property, but only if it has several bedrooms. In a
two-bedroom house this may be seen as a waste of valuable
space.
One
sure way to help a sale is to have a loft conversion,
extension or conservatory, but be wary of adding on solely for
profit. Phil Spencer, co-presenter of Channel 4's Location,
Location and managing director of Garrington Home Finders
advises:
"An
extension may give the house greater financial potential, but
most areas, except central London,
have a ceiling price. So you need to decide how you give your
home the 'cutting edge' - subtly!
"An
extension should never feel like an add-on and should be
decorated in keeping with the rest of the house. A four
bedroom house, for example, cannot be transformed into a
six-bed home by simply turning a loft into two bedrooms. What
about bathroom facilities? Can the living space itself stretch
to cater for more people?
"Keep
colours fairly neutral and don't overspend. If you're doing up
a kitchen, use cheaper unit carcasses and spend your money on
the door fronts and worktops. In the bathroom, use a plain
white suite and add style with great fixtures and
fittings."
Watch the
budget
Remember,
while many improvements have intrinsic value and will attract
viewers, they won't always add real money. According to the
FMB a new kitchen is one of the most popular home improvement
projects, but keep your expenditure in proportion. Splashing
out on a £30,000 designer kitchen is great if there's a keen
cook in the house, but this probably won't be recouped in a
sale.
What will add value to your home
before putting your
property on the market for sale?
If you need further support in envisaging the changes that you could
make then there are Home Staging Consultants all over the UK who can
provide services to make sure that you get it
right. See www.hsnwk.com
for more details.
Some
Estate Agents will tell you to do nothing and that a buyer will want to
make their own changes but later down the line with no offer to buy will
suggest a price reduction. You have to consider if at the point of
signing you up to a contract to sell if it is in the Agents interests to
encourage a vendor to spend a couple of weeks and a few hundred pounds
or so to present the property appropriately for sale so that they sell
quickly and at the best price.
It
has been proven time and again that the psychological impact of an
attractive and well presented home will achieve a quick sale. A
buyer needs more than bricks and mortar, a buyer is buying into a dream,
a lifestyle and psychologically needs to envisage the property as a home
for themselves - not the current occupier. So freshly painted
surfaces, good balance and proportion, function and purpose in every
room, a focal point and attractive accessorising to name but a few will
make all the difference and have the buyers ready to make an offer.
For more info
on reputable builders see
www.findabuilder.co.uk
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