#InspireLSHome | How To Add Value To Your Home

Want to add value to your home? Here’s how with these renovation projects …

From making your home more energy efficient to revamping your kitchen, extending skywards or outwards – with loft conversions and conservatories. Homeowners have an array of options when it comes to squeezing every penny out of your house value. See for yourself.

1. Cash in your attic

Convert your loft into a double bedroom, with an en-suite, and you can whack an extra 21% on your house’s value – Nationwide Building Society estimates. That’s a whopping £57,000 on the average UK home. Not bad for as little as six to 12 weeks work.

Your local planning department will tell you whether your floors are strong enough, the stairs are safe and your sound insulation is up to scratch – giving you the green light to get your local tradesmen to install everything from skylights to floors. Your new loft conversion will get top marks for fire and safety standards too, boosting your house’s value.

2. Freshen your kitchen up

An up-to-date kitchen will add 4% to the value of your home, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors – so get your local kitchen fitters in. Give future buyers as much storage space as possible, by being clever about your layout. And draw inspiration from 2017’s must-try design trends…

Think marble countertops, contrasted with natural timber or dark wood cabinets – made from recycled materials. Navy blues and revitalising green are the wall colours of the moment – alternatively, you could experiment with an industrial look or make your kitchen look as elegant as a rustic Italian villa with new, terracotta tiles.

3. Does your bathroom scrub up well?

Swap your bathroom taps for brass ones, replace your shower screen and towel rails at the very least. But if you want an extra 5% when you sell your home, get a local bathroom fitter to install a new en-suite or second bathroom. It’ll set you back £4,500 on average for new everything, from loo to sink. Who could resist a freestanding bath or heated floors in a neutral-coloured room?

4. Make your home more energy efficient

Think double glazing, loft insulation and cavity wall insulation, to trap heat into your home. With 71% of owner-occupied buildings rated A-D in the energy stakes, you can’t afford to be left behind.

5. Add an extension or conservatory

Just 10% more floor space, in the form of a single storey extension, will up your home’s value by 5%. Meanwhile, a two storey extension with a bedroom will add 12% to your potential asking price. So don’t be scared off because the pay-off can be big – design your extension to be as big as possible, without sacrificing too much of your garden.

Prefer a conservatory? If it’s part of an extension, which matches the rest of your home, you home could fetch an extra 15%. Remember to add air conditioning or blinds to cool your south facing conservatory, and good heating if it faces north.