What would add most value to a property?

AuntyJean · 23 July 2005 at 12:25PM

At present we live in a 2 bedroomed house without double glazing and the kitchen is 15 years old. We have completely gutted the bathroom and replaced everything (except the window and ceiling).

The garden is over 80ft long and about 18ft wide.

Rather than spend say £20,000+ doing the house up we were considering moving in a few years time (say 5) to a house that has had everything done to it, with a garage.

My question is would we be better off spending spare cash now and renovating the house or, should we just build a garage or, have the kitchen re-done or, have the loft converted or, have the windows double glazed?

What would add more value to the property, if anything? Or, should we leave it as it is?

House is worth about £145,000 at present (due to sought after location) and house we have seen in same area which is completely renovated with garage is on market for £172,000.

Priced up cost to build double garage with electricity a tile roof at £8,000 but have not priced up other items.

rizla01 · 23 July 2005 at 12:37PM

Hi Aunty.

If you shop around you will probably get the Dg done for £6 - 8k. Replacing Kitchen is the best improvement as its the women that make the emotive decision to purchase most of the time.

Spend the rest on tarting place up, general Decoration and the odd carpet where needed. The entrance hall is very important too.

Just don't make the mistake of thinking that people like to make extra money from doing your place up and removing all of YOUR lifes grime. They DONT!

People in the main are lazy and want something to move straight into.

I'm a part time property developer BTW.

Riz

Poppy9 · 23 July 2005 at 12:38PM

Currently you have a £27k difference in value on a modernised house and yours.

IMO if I was not moving for a few years I would upgrade kitchen
A kitchen can be done for less than £5k (depending on the size and if you DIY as little as £1k).

Re windows - do they need replacing or just a coat of paint? If rotten replace (you could just replace the worse).

I would forget the garage as I don't think it would really add an extra £8k to your valuation.

Loft conversion - expensive job, only do if you will more than recoup money. Talk to an estate agent about.

Other little things you can do to increase your valuation is change light fittings and sockets, redecorate, replace flooring, external painting & tidying up.

Go and look at the top price houses for ideas on what they have done.

AuntyJean · 23 July 2005 at 12:46PM

rizla01 wrote:

Hi Aunty.

Replacing Kitchen is the best improvement as its the women that make the emotive decision to purchase most of the time.

Spend the rest on tarting place up, general Decoration and the odd carpet where needed. The entrance hall is very important too.
Riz

If I spent say £8,000 doing the above, what would this add to the current market value do you think? (The alternative is leave the money in a high interest account).

sneekymum · 23 July 2005 at 12:48PM

Build a conservatory - cheap extra space you can enjoy now that will really add value to a sale. Use a good local 'lad' recommended by a friend.

I'm a Chartered Architect BTW...

ReportInvestor · 23 July 2005 at 12:56PM

Improvements that add value to your home - Link to various surveys from 2003-4

It can depend on your area, but a garage can be a good investment according to one survey, poppy.

Estate agents generally like loft conversions or extensions.

AuntyJean · 23 July 2005 at 12:57PM

sneekymum wrote:

Build a conservatory - cheap extra space you can enjoy now that will really add value to a sale. Use a good local 'lad' recommended by a friend.

I'm a Chartered Architect BTW...

Roughly how much would a conservatory cost to build (including foundations)? This would be a real boon if it was the width of the house as we could extend the kitchen which is really small.

HLK · 23 July 2005 at 1:01PM

If you did the kitchen now it would be 5yrs old by the time you want to sell.. so think about that too.. might be better to wait unless you 'need' a new one!

if you have a big garden then the conservatory idea by sneekymum if a good one unless you can afford an extension preferably with an extra loo downstairs.

there will always bea ceiling price for any property - so keep an eye on nethouseprices.com so you are up to date on where the market is in you immediate vicinity.
Best of luck with whatever you decide..

Poppy9 · 23 July 2005 at 1:04PM

That was interesting reading reportinvestor. I think the off road parking is more valuable that the building of a garage though.

I think the OP needs to talk to local Estate Agents. The best improvements vary according to house size, target market etc.

In my house if I was to add a loft conversion I would have to lose a bedroom to get access. This would mean instead of having 4 double bedrooms on the first floor I would only have 3. Only two neighbours in identical houses have done this and its not added anything to their house value. Estate Agents told us its because we are semi's not detached. In their opinion if you did the same to a detached house it would be more likely to add value.

AuntyJean · 23 July 2005 at 1:09PM

HLK wrote:

If you did the kitchen now it would be 5yrs old by the time you want to sell.. so think about that too.. might be better to wait unless you 'need' a new one!

That is my thinking too. You see my partner & I are just in our 50's (He is 53 and I will be 50 this year. My consideration is that when we are pensioners there will be no monies spare to do such things as replace kitchens and bathrooms etc so, the idea was to move nearer retirement age to a property that would not need anything doing to it.

Does anyone know how long such things last (ie how often would it be before a kitchen/bathroom/roof/central heating etc. NEEDS replacing, on average for a mid-priced kitchen say). Would the 'new' house be falling down round our ears in 20 years or less?

sneekymum · 23 July 2005 at 1:11PM

what's a conservatory cost? - how long's a piece of string?

depends where you live, how big you want it, what you want it made of, how fancy, whether there are any special planning or building regulations considerations...

I'd go for the biggest one possible that you can get away with (with or without planning permission) and you can afford.

The simplest shapes are cheapest. Companies make big profits on opening windows (we've got a massive conservatory with no opening windows - north facing though), fancy window motifs, funny shaped roofs.... go for a big square or rectangle with a lean-to roof (not necessarily those cheap 'flat'ish roofs - ours is 17 degrees and looks very posh), extra's such as heating (buy an oil filled radiator from Argos), and ceiling fans (if it get's too hot you should be sat in the garden...), expensive tiled floors (get then to leave you bare concrete and throw some cheap carpet down).

Our conservatory is 5m x 4m and cost £8K - with all glass 'e'-coated and safety. Expect to pay more than we did per square metre.

Don't pay a penny until the job is finished to your complete satisfaction. Do not pay a deposit - use the smallest company that has good credit with their supplier.

When you know what you want first ask if planning permission is needed - ask in writing and you'll get a written reply to keep with your deeds - check if building regulations is also needed. In writing. Even if its obvious that you don't need planning permission WRITE IN ANYWAY.

What would add most value to a property?

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