Moneysupermarket House Insurance

5 Ways to increase your home's value  

The UK 's housing market is currently not in the best condition. It's not as stable as it could be, and as such people are finding that their house is simply not worth as much as they thought, affecting people's ability to move and/or sell their property.

What's the solution to this? Well, one answer is home improvement. There are a few jobs you can do that will increase the value of your home hugely, and in this post we're going to be looking at some of the best ways to do it.

Attic/Loft Conversion

Space is becoming more and more of a premium nowadays, and as a result of this more and more homeowners are looking to make better use of the space they currently have. A loft conversion is costly (a job of this type will cost £15,000 and up), but the value of your home will increase by an average of around £60,000. However, in London and the South East, loft conversions are worth more due to the difficulty of expanding pre-existing buildings.

Basement

Expanding downward is just as good an idea as expanding upward, and adding a basement to your property can add an entire floor's worth of space to your property - ideal if you plan on letting it. The work itself takes longer and is more difficult to do - you'll have to get professionals in and consider having structural work done to the building, but a basement can add about £50,000 to the value of your property. Expect to pay around £250-350 for each square foot of floor space.

Gardens

The outside of your property is important as well - it's considered a room by estate agents, and prospective buyers are more likely to take a good-sized garden over an extra bedroom or bathroom.

Just how much work you want to do is entirely up to you, whether it's relaying a lawn, planting flowers or a full redesign, put obviously the more work you do and the more money you put into it, the greater your return will be when you come to sell your property.

Open Plan

Here in the UK , people are becoming more and more eager to combine our eating, relaxing and even sleeping areas into one large area, and it can make a small space feel a great deal larger. While knocking holes in your walls isn't recommended without professional advice, doing this work can yield decent rewards when it comes time to sell.

Period Features

Do you have original fireplaces or oak beams in your house? Any original features from a bygone period of architecture can increase interest in your property - and while renovating and restoring them can be an expensive job, the results are often worth it.

If you've got a Victorian, Tudor or other period house, keep an eye out for any original features that might be hidden behind plastered walls or false ceilings. Renovating and restoring them can be a very expensive job, but the increased resale value of your home is likely to negate the initial outlay.

Of course, you should remember that any work you have done to your house will also affect your house insurance premiums as well. Any windows or doors you have fitted should be uPVC ones with industry recognised locks and security measures, as things like this will help to keep your premiums as low as possible, despite the increase in value.