10 Home Renovation Tips to Add Value To Your Home

If you’re a homeowner, you’ll know there is nothing more important than ensuring your property retains its value. However, if you know you’re not living in your forever home then you might be thinking about ways to renovate your property to help increase its value. After all, selling a house for more than you paid for it is a sure way to get yourself moving up the property ladder. Below you’ll find our top 10 home renovation tips which are guaranteed to help increase the value of your home:

1. Loft & Basement Conversions

Converting unused space in your property is a great way to add value to your property. Loft conversions are most common in the UK but underground space in the form of a cellar or basement can equally create extra rooms and added property value. 

A typical loft or basement conversion in the UK can cost up to 50% less than that of a regular extension and doesn’t usually require the lengthy, and sometimes expensive, process of applying for planning permission. 

2. Superficial Repairs

Sometimes the smallest changes can make the biggest difference. So before you go around knocking down walls or applying for planning permission, consider whether you can make any superficial changes to your home. Updating your interior with a lick of paint or replacing mouldy sealants in the kitchen and bathroom can make a difference to the price people are willing to pay for a property. Some other typical home defects worth fixing:

• Cracks in the ceiling and plasterwork
• Threadbare carpets and lifting flooring
• Loose and broken tiling
• Dripping taps, water stains and sewage smells
• Peeling wallpaper and cracked paintwork
• Broken windows and doors (including their handles).

3. Heating

If you want to add some serious value to your house, then look for the invisible and update your central heating system. From pipes and radiators to boilers and oil tanks, ensuring you have a central heating system which is safe, efficient and reliable is guaranteed to add value to your property. 

If your boiler is working well and your pipes don’t need replacing, you may also want to consider other energy efficiency improvements for your property. Improving your properties energy rating is not only like to increase its value but also lower the costs of heating it whilst you’re living there. Simple improvements you should consider are: 

• Loft Insulation
• Cavity Wall Insulation
• Double-Glazed Windows

4. Electrics

Before you start thinking about cosmetic changes to your property, it’s worth considering whether your home needs rewiring. Rewiring a home can be costly and involve removing large sections of plaster, so you’ll want to make sure you do this first.

However, if you do go ahead with rewiring your home, you could be making a very wise decision when it comes to increasing the value of your home. 

5. Update Bathrooms

Bathrooms are a great place to start if you’re looking to quickly and cheaply add value to your property. Often left until last due to the inconvenient nature of refurbishing a bathroom, these rooms can often be a deal breaker when it comes to deciding whether someone will buy your homes. Bathrooms are ideally simple, clean and hygienic and whilst some of this is down to the cleaning there is also a consideration of decor, tiling and the fittings within the bathroom. If you’re looking to add value to your property by updating your bathroom, it is worth considering the following:

• Replacing broken or chipped tiling
• Adding a showerhead to each bathroom, even if it is an extension to the bath taps.
• Repainting or tiling over old-fashioned pink, avocado, brown or peach tiling.
• Removing mouldy sealant and resealing bath, shower and sink edges.
• Replacing carpeted flooring with vinyl or tiles.
• Installing underfloor heating (although it is worth noting that this will increase the floor high by 3-4mm).
• Repainting walls and the ceiling
• Adding plants and mirrors to add light and texture to the space

6. Garden

Taming the jungle which is your garden is a great way to add value to your property. From simply cutting the grass and planting a few flowers to adding decking, mature trees, water features and a pong. Ensuring your garden looks maintained and organised is a simple way to show off your outside space and to increase the value of your property.

7. Kerb Appeal

They say humans make a decision on whether they like someone within the first 7 seconds of seeing them and this is no different for homes. First impressions count, so make sure the outside of your home says everything you want it to. In order to ensure the outside of your property adds value and doesn’t decrease it, it’s worth considering the following ‘kerb appeal’ areas:

The Front Door

• Ensure your front door looks clean and fresh. For wooden doors, simply give it a lick of paint in black, red, navy or racing green. From plastic or composite door, give them a wipe and invest in cleaning products which will make them shine.
• Ensure letterboxes and house numbers are polished
• Ensure doorbells and knockers are clean and working

Roof, Exterior Walls & Driveways

• Repoint Brickwork
• Replace or repaint tired looking cladding
• Repaint tired looking external walls
• Tidy up driveways and replace any tarmac or bricks which are damaged
• Build a porch

Greenery

• Ensure the general appearance of your outside space is tidy
• Invest in potted plants, climbing plants or hanging basket to give your front-door a new lease of life. 

8. Create Off-Street Parking

If you live in a town or city, you’ll know that properties with off-street parking are rare treasures. In fact so rare in fact that houses with car parking spaces are seen as more valuable than those without. 

If you have a large front garden and you’re willing to sacrifice some of the greenery for one or two off-street parking spaces, you’re likely to see a profitable return. For most home buyers the removal of costs associated with parking permits and the benefits of a well-designed drive is more appealing than a garden.

9. Built-in Storage

Many newly built homes do not come with built-in storage space, meaning more and more people are looking for homes which will accommodate their many possession. As a result, there is a general consensus that if your home has built-in storage space then the value of your home will increase. Thankfully, installing storage solutions are relatively easy and can be quite cheap (meaning more profit!). For bedrooms, consider adding built-in wardrobes, for bathrooms consider sink units with built-in cupboards or if you’re desperate for extra space, consider converting your loft or basement.

10. Open-plan

If you want to add some serious value to your property, consider knocking a few walls down to create an open-plan kitchen-living-diner. Whilst not an option for the faint-hearted when it comes to refurbishing your home, creating an open plan space can reap dividends when it comes to the properties value.