If you are looking taboos some value in your home then there are some areas which you should focus on more than others. A couple of years back we moved to Alberta, Canada from the USA and we knew a good year beforehand that we were going to be moving. We took the decision that in order to make our home more valuable and more salable that we would have to undertake a little bit of renovation work. Prior to speaking to a lender to borrow some money for the work, we spoke to a friend of ours Travis Cadman about which areas would add maximum value, and these are the key areas which we were told to focus on.
Gardens
The gardens of your home can be renovated without huge costs and the difference which it makes is huge. Those looking to buy properties are much more drawn to those which have renovated gardens as they not only look good, but it means that they do not have to undertake work on getting the garden right. We were able to undertake this work at a low cost and the value that it added to the property was actually more than we invested in the first place.
Kitchen
I wouldn’t recommend renovating the kitchen solely for the purpose of adding value to the home because you won’t get back what you are putting in. If however you want to add value to your home, but you plan to live there for a while first, then I would absolutely recommend undertaking a kitchen renovation. Our kitchen was in a dreadful state and the reason why we decided to invest in this area of the home is because we knew we’d be there for at least one more year, and because we knew that in its current state we would be unlikely to find a buyer for the property.
Bathrooms
The bathroom is another area of the home which can add really good value and it is estimated that you can recoup around 80% of your investment through the added value which it will bring. A bathroom renovation doesn’t have to cost the Earth either which is even more incentive to address this area of the home. In our case we simply installed a new shower and some new flooring, as well as some tiling work and new features such as taps. I’d be a fraud if I told you that we spent a lot of money or that it took a lot of work, as it really didn’t. The result however was a fresher and more attractive bathroom which added both salability and added value to the home.
These are the main areas which you need to focus on if you wish to add value to your property, remember to weigh up the amount that you are spending versus the estimated amount of value that you are going to add to your home.
