Your house is so much more than a mere place to live, it’s a home to create beautiful memories, and an asset to make a bit of money! If you’re planning to sell in the future, it’s a fantastic idea to modify your home to increase the value. To get you started on your journey, these nine ideas are just perfect. Even if you’re not looking to sell, improving your home is a great way to enhance your lifestyle.
1. Add a conservatory Adding a conservatory to your home is the perfect way to enhance your living space and connect the property with the garden. A popular style of conservatory is the sunroom, these conservatories are designed with one sloped roof, adjoined to the house by the longest wall. Another style are victoria conservatories, these have a rounded design, ridged roofing and multi-faceted walls. Seh Bac reported that ‘a well-built conservatory could increase your home’s value by at least 5%.’2. A solar roofGreen lifestyles have become increasingly important over the last several years, and we can see these concerns reflected in property features. Adding solar panels to your roof can boost the value of your home by appropriately 4%. Solar panels use photovoltaic cells to harness the energy from the sun and turn this into electricity. You’ll find that once you’ve had solar panels installed, your energy bills will be significantly less!3. Utilise your basement Perhaps you have a basement or cellar which you don’t really use? Basements are a wasted space for many households, but it doesn’t have to be this way. Basement conversions will add anything between 10 and 15% to the value of your home. Unlike some conservatories or garden offices, you don’t need to gain planning permission to start converting this space. First things first, you’ll need to decide how your basement can be put to good use. Perhaps you could do with a second living room? Maybe you’d prefer an office or a kids playroom? 4. A new kitchenVirgin Money suggests that revamping your kitchen can add up to 6 percent value to your property. To design yourself a gorgeous kitchen consider having an island built. Kitchen islands look beautiful and contemporary, plus they give you a space to socialise or prepare food. Compact storage spaces are useful to make your kitchen appear bigger, so these are a real win to maximize on space. To keep on trend with this season's colours, try cabinets in forest green or navy blue. When using bold colours it’s advisable to also use white or cream shades in contrast.5 . Convert your loftAccording to On The Market, loft conversions ‘add an average of 21 percent to the value of a property.’ There are several types of loft conversions you can go for, depending on your taste. Dormer loft conversions are one of the most popular types, these styles are built using the existing slope of your roof. The benefit of a dormer conversion is that these will not require any big changes to the structure of your home. Mansard conversions are built by elevating the adjoining wall between you and your neighbor. They are designed with a flat roof and an inward sloping wall. Most people consider these to be more aesthetically appealing than dormer conversions.6. A new bathroomYou can expect a brand new bathroom to add at least 5% value to your property. When potential buyers view a house, a bathroom that looks outdated and shabby is a real turn off. Even if you’re not planning to sell any time soon, it’s still lovely to treat yourself to a gorgeous new bathroom! The interior design scene has plenty of fun new bathroom trends to play around with this year. First up, deep bathtubs are increasingly popular, free-standing tubs especially, that give the room an art deco style. Besides this, in 2020 we’re seeing lots of integrated lighting, brass finishes and uniquely patterned tiles.7. Invest in triple glazing Triple glazed windows are useful to improve security, retain heat and save energy. You’ll also find that these windows have greater noise reduction properties when compared with single or double glazed windows. Triple glazed windows will help you to boost your home's value by up to 10%.8. Revamp your gardenAccording to House Beautiful, ‘the right garden can add anywhere between five and twenty percent to a property's value.’ So what exactly can you do to improve your garden? Out of all the garden features to ramp up the value, a shed is one of the top features. You could also create an attractive patio area, with quality paving stones, and enough space for modern garden furniture. Replace your fences if they are looking shabby, or simply repaint them if they are in good condition.9. Build a garden office As working from home becomes the new normal, garden offices are all the rage! A garden office quite literally means an office that’s constructed in your garden, these structures look rather like summer houses. There are plenty of advantages to adding a garden office to your home. Firstly, it’s easier to focus on work and keep your work separate from your family time and leisure time. Secondly, if your job involves meeting clients in person, a garden office provides you with a professional space to do so. Garden offices will boost the value of your property by an estimated 5%.Real estateWhen you first bought your house, it’s likely that you considered it an asset as well as a place to live. Real estate is a fantastic way to make money, whether it’s making a profit when you sell or buying a condo to rent out. If you want to make money in real estate, it’s useful to keep up with property trends and learn which modifications add the most value. It’s advisable to use an online condo portal, to find great deals on buy- to- let condos and apartments. Renters can also find some great options on condo portal websites.