The housing market can be unpredictable and with interest rates at an all-time low, the market is bouyant. Even in a lively market though making improvements to your home will always boost your chances of achieving the best possible price and the fastest possible offer. So whether you're planning to move now or in a few month's time or even next year, what can you do now to add value? Read on to find out.
Get your home ready to sell this year
1. Give your interior and exterior décor a facelift
If you don’t have a lot of time before viewings start then there are some simple things you can do to add value without too much effort. Painting the property is one of the easiest ways to make a big difference. Cleaning the windows, getting carpets professionally cleaned and repainting the front door will also impress buyers, helping to improve the kerb appeal of your home.
2. Create space in your home
You don't have to create a bland, personality-less show home but decluttering before selling, is highly recommended. A home with 'stuff' in every nook and cranny can make rooms feel smaller and potential buyers might struggle to see themselves living in the space.
If you have particularly questionable interior design skills/preferences and have very dark or bright colours on walls it could make sense to neutralise the colour, not only will a lighter colour such as light grey open a room up, but it will probably attract rather than repel buyers who will see redecorating as an additional expense and more faff to factor in.
3. Your garden is important too
It’s not just the aesthetics of the bedroom and the facilities of the kitchen that buyers look at, but also the outside areas, great gardens really do help a house to sell! If your garden has seen better days it’s fairly simple to get it up to scratch. Mow the lawn, weed the beds and throw out any garden furniture that is rusted or broken. Plant a few tubs with some seasonal colour, pop in some solar-powered fairy lights and your garden will go from looking unloved to lovely!
4. Free up parking space
If you have buyers coming to view the property then if space is limited, give them your parking space. They’ll get a feel for what it would be like to live in the property and you can avoid them feeling agitated because they couldn’t find anywhere to park.
If you have a double drive, make sure you leave a space free and if you have on-road permit parking in your area, you may want to let your agent know in advance details of visitor permits or close-by parking.
Things to do before you sell your house next year
1. Consider a loft conversion
If you have the time to do some serious value-adding improvements, converting the loft is one to consider. It essentially adds an additional room to your home and that can push the price up by around 12%.
2. Consider adding more parking
Some may shudder at the idea of destroying a beautiful front garden to create additional parking, but for some homes, particularly those that might only have a single drive, or no drive at all, partially paving over a front garden could ensure the home appeals to more buyers.
Whether this is a good idea or not depends on where you live. For example, it could actually harm the appeal and value of a cottage or property in a rural location but for an urban home, it could be a huge bonus. If you pave over the front garden you’re creating a private parking space. That could add as much as £50,000 to the value of your property in some parts of the UK!
3. Redo the kitchen
Property experts like Phil Spencer of Location, Location, Location say that the kitchen is the number one room when it comes to impact on sale value. Natural and practical design will add the most to the value of the property overall, as opposed to a very striking bespoke look. If you can create a modern, up-to-date kitchen with broad appeal then you can boost the sale price by 5%.
You don't need to rip the entire thing out though, you can give a dated kitchen a facelift by replacing the cabinet doors, worktops and tap and sink.
4. Update the entryway to your home
The front of the property will be the first impression on potential buyers so anything you can do to improve it will make a difference. Replace windows, repaint the outside, install a new door or just give the brickwork a really good clean.
When you’re ready to move, you can get a fast and free, no-obligation online conveyancing quote.