If you are thinking of selling your real estate, you might want to consider increasing its value. Apart from giving you a better price, maximizing the value of your property will help you to sell it faster. The following are things you can do to add value to your property:
- Fix structural defects
Before you can even consider making cosmetic repairs and improvements such as new kitchens, bathrooms, flooring and interior decorating, ensure that you have fixed any considerable structural defects. You should therefore fix major issues such as a leaking roof, bowing walls, structural cracks in walls, broken or missing roof tiles, rotten roof timbers and collapsed floors or slabs among other areas.
- Update or add Central heating
You can add or update your central heating unit if you want to increase the value of your property especially if you are selling during winter. Most buyers or mortgage valuers will consider central heating an essential feature of a property. Updating your heating system should go hand in hand with improving your home’s energy efficiency. You can do this be sealing drafts around windows and doors and adding insulation into your loft space.
- Wiring and plumbing
Your old pipe work can become clogged, which can lead to poor flow cold and hot water. You can also have knocking and rattling sounds, and your pipes can eventually burst. A pressurized plumbing unit should be considered because you will not need any header tank, which frees up space. The cold and hot water supplies will also have god pressure.
- Fix superficial defects
Even though small defects will not directly affect your property’s value, cumulatively they can prevent you from getting the maximum price possible. These defects will also put a potential buyer off and yet they can easily be fixed. Simple defects that you can fix include peeling paint, defective door latches, loose tiles, cracks to plasterwork and ceilings, sewer smells, dripping taps and broken windows among others.
- Replace windows
Installing new double glazed vinyl windows can add value to your property. Apart from making your house look better, energy efficient replacement windows will also help you save on heating and cooling bills every month. Safety and security can also be improved if you go for impact-resistant windows. However, in the higher end of the property market, aesthetics play an important role. Buyers can therefore place a premium on property with its initial period windows, as long as they are intact and they function well.
- Convert your roof space
Converting a loft can prove a wise investment as long as it provides more space than it removes. Remember that you will need to make space for a staircase, which takes up your existing space. You should also ensure that you can cost effectively convert your roof space.
- Give the kitchen and bathroom a makeover
Buyers and valuation experts will give you high marks if your property has an attractive and sanitary looking kitchen and bathroom. You may need to refurbish your kitchen cabinets and worktops, replace your leaking taps, and install new appliances. Your bathroom may need a new showerhead, tiles, and plumbing system.
Undertaking any of these will definitely improve the value of your home. Therefore, you can try out any of these before putting up your house for sale.