For many of us, our homes are our biggest asset and source of our wealth. We spend our lives working hard in our careers so that we can have an attractive property with all the bells and whistles.
Increasing the value of our properties is a top concern, but there’s so much confusing advice out there. The moment we think we know a great scheme for keeping up the value, somebody comes along and tells us it won’t make a difference.
In this post, we take a contrarian position. Instead of just looking at regular ways to increase the value of your home, we explore some of the quirkier alternatives.
Check them out below.
Swap Out Your Old Heating System
One of the best ways to increase the value of your property is to swap out the old heating system and replace it with a new one.
Some buyers want that traditional Victorian radiator style, but most now prefer a much more minimalist approach. Underfloor heating is the best. But if that isn’t practical in your home, then designer radiators are a good second place.
Replacing your existing heating system provides a host of impressive benefits. For one, it allows you to cut down on your heating bills. It also makes the system more reliable if you go electric. Taking water out of the equation reduces the need to bleed radiators or flush the system with toxic chemicals.
Add A Garden Office
Adding a garden office was always a great – and somewhat quirky – way to add value to your home. But these days, it is even more attractive because of social distancing requirements.
Imagine if you were a home buyer looking for a dream property in the current pandemic. What would you choose?
Well, you’d want something with a home office. But ideally, you’d like something separate to physically demarcate between work and play.
Most properties don’t offer that kind of setup. But a garden office does. You can commute to work – just like in the good old days – by walking across your garden. And you can enjoy the beautiful surroundings of suburbia, and not have to put up with the ugly sights and sounds of the city centre.
Add Windproof Shutters
Scientists continue to claim that extreme weather is on the rise. And the media seems to agree. Every year, we see some new and dreadful disaster on our TV screens.
With that in mind, many buyers want their homes to come with some form of protection – something that will help them keep out the elements.
The primary concern right now is the weather. Extreme wind and weather events are leading many homeowners to consider whether they need storm shutters to protect their interiors against damage and flying objects.
Regular commercial varieties are purely functional. But today, you can get products that come in the form of plantation shutters. They look just like the regular version, but if a cyclone arrives, they can offer protection.
Add Bifold Doors
Bifold doors are another home improvement trend that is capturing the imagination of millions of homebuyers across the marketplace. They’re a great way to add light to a room and they act like a bridge between indoor and outdoor spaces. Many properties deliberately set the indoor and outdoor floor heights to be identical.
The only downside is that bifold doors are quite expensive – well over $1,000 per meter. So if you want to cover a large area, you’ll need to budget well in advance.
Get Rid Of Some Of Your Rooms
Ever heard the saying, “less is more?” Well, when it comes to the number of rooms in your home, it’s true.
The open-plan living trend doesn’t appear to be going away any time soon. And so today, countless homeowners are looking for properties with large kitchen-diners that also connect to a lounge area.
The problem is that only a small subset of houses actually cater to this living arrangement. So the ones that do are in high demand.
And we all know what high demand means: higher prices.
Getting rid of some of your rooms is quite simple. Most interior walls in modern properties are not structural. That means that you can knock through with relative ease.
Even if they are structural, you can still build archways to support the weight above.
Having fewer but larger rooms makes your home seem bigger than it is. You’re able to observe more of the available space. And that’s something that property buyers appreciate.
Add A Bedroom In An Outbuilding
In typical homes, all bedrooms fit snugly inside the main house itself. But many property buyers are also looking for living spaces in outbuildings.
Why is this?
Well, think about it. In today’s modern world, there are many different kinds of living arrangements. A lot of families live with older parents who need their own living space. There are also property owners who want to rent out separate accommodation to holidaymakers.
Separate bedrooms in outbuildings can massively add to the commercial value of a home. The more you have, the better it gets.
Add Cladding
Next time you approach your home from the front, take note of how it looks. If it looks smart and attractive, then you’re in a good place with it and don’t need to modify the exterior. However, if it looks tired and disheveled, it could affect its value.
You wouldn’t think exterior cladding would make much difference to the overall price of a property. After all, it’s a cheap addition. However, when it comes to buying a property, first impressions count. And many buyers place tremendous weight on what a property looks like from the outside.
Adding cladding is a great way to cover up tired-looking bricks and pebbledash. You can also use it to cover up damp-looking concrete.
If you’re not clean on cladding, here are some other exterior improvements you can make:
- Repaint the exterior walls
- Change the window frames
- Repaint the window frames
- Repoint the brickworks
- Replace an old garage door.
Radical exterior makeovers could improve your home’s value by 5 per cent.
