What adds value to your property?
With the New Year upon us and a new decade to boot, we at Chameleon Interiors thought we would kick off the year with our thoughts close to many customers minds. Building that conservatory, converting your loft or garage or extending your kitchen into a side return will definitely give you more space but will it add value to your house? Which projects will make a difference and what are the pitfalls to avoid. http://www.chameleondesignsinteriors.co.uk
Garage Conversions
Nearly half of all garages in the UK are not used for the car. Either the modern car is too large to fit inside or the space is used as storage. It is tempting therefore to convert them and make the most of the space they provide.
It can be used to provide an extra family living room, a children’s playroom, an office, workshop, hobby room, music room or study. A detached garage, especially a double one, can be made into an ancillary living space, the so-called ‘granny annex’.
Always however remember the appeal of the space to future buyers. What changes to the space that benefit your own family may not be what most buyers are looking for so will not add value. Removing the properties largest storage space can thus reduce its appeal and ultimately its financial repayment.
As with all the following conversions, you must ensure that the work is done to a high professional standard and all building regulation approvals and planning permissions if needed are kept safely together for a potential buyer. If you are replacing valuable storage space, then make sure that the items that once were stored there have a place to be kept, such as a new garden shed.
Loft conversions
This is a highly useful way to create space for an extra bedroom and possibly an en suite with it, particularly where ground space is limited as in a terraced house or a city property. A very basic loft conversion can start at £30,000 but go up to £60,000 for a slightly more complex one.
One of the main reasons most properties do not recoup these costs at sale is if the number of bedrooms does not match the down stairs living/communal space. If say for instance you have added a fifth bedroom on to a four bedroom sized house and even maybe made one of the other bedrooms smaller to gain access to the third floor then this can deter those with a budget for a five bedroom house, Obviously if you can extend the downstairs footprint too, by extending out at the back or into a side return then this will enhance the whole value of the property.
Kitchens
Enlarging the kitchen, may be the best investment, particularly when open plan living is a big interior trend. Modern families enjoy the benefit of a large kitchen family area. An outstanding kitchen can add an immediate wow factor to a property and push up its value.
However, building a mega kitchen might make you feel like a character out of a lavish TV drama but it may also take away the other key factor that influences sales to families. The garden.
The amount you spend on a kitchen renovation can be very high too depending on so many factors and the more you personalise it to your taste then the less appeal it will have for the main market. A figure often quoted by designers and architects is in the region of £100,00. Would your properties value increase by that amount? The chances are it will improve your lifestyle but would the value of your property correspond?
Summary
Of course, this article is specifically and purely about adding value to your property. There are many other reasons why you may want to carry out the above conversions to enable your family to have a better quality of life or even to achieve that dream home you have seen in magazines or on television. It may be that you are happy to spend more money to achieve this than you will ever recover. However, it would be difficult to imagine a well carried out conversion to increase space ever actually lowering the original value of a property, but always bear in mind the property price ceiling for your area/road, and decide accordingly. For more help and advice please contacthttp://www.chameleondesignsinteriors.co.uk