Things to do that add value

wiggly

Hiya

We're hoping to buy a house soon and we have a list of things we want to do to it but we've just realised we don't know which of them are just for us and what improvements would add value to the house etc

is there a website that helps, or very clever people on here that can add some guidance? This will be our first home and we want to make it nice for us primarily but some things are quite costly and ambitious but we want to have some rough idea about what effect it might have in the future when we come to sell

thanks :beer:

davef

Here is my reply from an earlier thread

Consider the following taken from a reader survey on findaproperty.com

What Buyers Want
The top ten most important things to buyers, according to the survey, were:

1 Parking / garage
2 Kitchen / dining space
3 Central heating
4 Garden
5 Double glazing
6 Size
7 Number of rooms
8 Enough living space
9 Original features
10 Ensuite bedroom

Consider how each area rates in your house. Perhaps its a case of spreading the spend to improve a few of the above items & maximise the 'appeal' to potential buyers. I would also add that most buyers prefer neutral colour schemes. What about curb appeal - would buyers be put off before even stepping into your property. Does it have adequate storage etc etc etc.

Also advise speaking to estate agents in the local area - they should know what people are after !!

Good luck.
Dave

ashli_2

Hi there, we are in the same boat, FTB and we've shopped around for a house that is structurally sound and already has double glazing but needs a lot of cosmetic improvement so hopefully we can add some equity.

Our plan is to:

Give the walls and ceilings a skim to bring it up to a nice finish,

New kitchen,

Improve existing dining area by installing a patio door,

New carpets upstairs, bring the wooden floors back up downstairs

New (old) fireplaces to replace the 70's gas fires,

Redecorate in neutral tones


Garden improvements, patio etc.


Working to a very tight budget of 6k! :eek:


Good luck

wiggly

davef wrote: »

1 Parking / garage

not a chance

2 Kitchen / dining space

the kitchen in on the list, it looks ok atm but there is no heating, a single glazed window and an ill fitting door!

3 Central heating

we have that

4 Garden

we don't have one of those just a back yard which is my little haven

5 Double glazing

we have it in some rooms but not kitchen or living room will add that as a priority esp the kitchen

6 Size

we;re tiny

7 Number of rooms

again we're tiny but will consider this one

8 Enough living space

I think our problem is out tat rather than lack of room

9 Original features

working to put those back too!

10 Ensuite bedroom

LOL not a chance

thanks for this list, its really helpful, certainly something to think about :cool:

x

HugoSP

Is there anyway you can alter the interior to make it appear more spacious, and appealing?

In the last house we had there was a small dining room that was hardly ever used. So we knocked through the kitchen and the dining room to create a 22 ft long kitchen diner.

Previously the kitchen was visable from the front door - a put off for many people I understand. This conversion enabled us to block off the door way between the kitchen and the entrance hall, and access the kitchen from the dining room. The house flowed much better from room to room.

ormus

the list above proves that most top 10 items are already in/at the house and theres nothing you can do to change them.
also remember that designs go in fads. knocking 2 rooms into 1 was all the rage some yrs ago. nowadays peeps want more rooms. so leave walls alone.

decorate sensibly. see what the pro developers do. they certainly dont do the things that the gay haggis munchers do:
http://www.five.tv/home/frameset/?content=7776981&

Hotsocks2

FWIW - very little!

..Someone (I think it was the one they horrifically grill on working lunch) said the other day the top things to increase value are: bigger kitchen, bigger bathroom, central heating (if it weren't there) - because it increases value for not much expenditure, build an extension, and don't build a swimming pool.

I did warn you.

Hotsocks2

gay haggis munchers

LOL. They don't like straight haggis', then? Well, obviously...