Selling your home is a bittersweet process. The undertaking is a necessary part of growth as a household, whether to facilitate a change in lifestyle or the addition of new members to the family, but involves letting go of your home and its contributions to your life so far.
Renovating your home before sale is a crucial part of the process, to put you in the best position to sell and also to increase its market value. But different renovations have different financial implications for a sale. Which renovations are most impactful in terms of adding value, and which might be the most sensible to undertake?
Extension
Undoubtedly, the single most effective way to increase the value of your home is to extend it. Adding an extension to your property, whether a single-storey or multi-storey extension, adds a significant amount of space, thus adding thousands to its market value.
In the case of multi-storey extensions, adding a bedroom can be the most lucrative way to capitalise on this. Single-storey renovations can be used for multiple purposes, though. A conservatory might be more aesthetically attractive to house-viewers, while adding downstairs toilets or additional bathrooms can create a new level of practicality for larger families. You might even use the space to extend your kitchen, creating a new social space and that ineffable ‘wow’ factor for visitors.
Loft Conversion
Second to property extension is conversion – specifically, loft conversion. This might be one of the more accessible renovation projects on this list, being much less expensive a project to undertake than extension. Loft conversions also do not require planning permission, unless the conversion involves building structures that exceed the property’s existing upper boundaries.
Loft conversions are a neat way to create an additional bedroom – again, something highly sought-after by buyers, and that lends itself much easier to a higher market value. Not only do families look out for additional bedroom space, but also prospective landlords looking for an investment opportunity.
Open-Plan Renovation
If space cannot be created, then the sense of space can work wonders for property value. Open plan is a divisive choice when it comes to renovating, having enjoyed varying levels of popularity in recent years. However, with minimalist spaces very much in at the moment, knocking walls through can be a simple and effective way to increasing demand – and to fielding higher offers.
Garage Conversion/Outhouse
Finally, there are some prescient ways in which you can increase the value of your home. The pandemic and its aftermath brought about a fresh desire for at-home working spaces, to enable remote work without blurring the lines between personal and professional life. With more people working from home, more buyers are looking for homes with dedicated working spaces. To this end, you might convert your garage into an office space, or build a sun room in your garden as a separate working space entirely.
