Do your sums on WCS, wine cellars and websites

Kirsty Mcluckie on the improvements that add value

This week I have been having fun with a new online tool from Go Compare, which calculates how to add value to your house.

The property investment calculator at www. gocompare. com allows you to put in the estimated value of the property and search projects costing from under £ 5,000 to more than £ 15,000 to predict the value that they would add.

I have decided that this year we would finally get round to doing something with the boggy patch of grass outside the house.

I was a bit disappointed therefore, to discover that a garden makeover would only be likely to add 1 per cent to the value of the house overall, which seems like an awful lot of effort and possible expense for such a paltry uplift.

I realise that it will add more to our quality of life, but still, it is a bit disheartening, particularly as I’m not a fan of hard physical labour.

On an average house price of £ 200,000, a garden makeover would add £ 2,000 to the value of an averagely priced house, but cost £ 1,500 – and a £ 500 profit on hours of digging, watering and weeding seems like a weak return.

According to the site, there are other more profitable projects we could be considering.

Installing a security system would boost the value by 2 per cent and would cost £ 500, giving an uplift of £ 3,500.

Adding an electric car charging point is a very modern improvement.

Costing £ 800, it may add £ 4,000 in value to an average house, so is worth thinking about for many.

Living in a rural location, with the next charging point probably beyond current battery life driving distance, it is not for us however.

Of the projects costing over £ 15,000, only a cellar conversion would add rather than lose value.

Despite creating an uplift of £ 20,000 on the value of an average house, digging a cellar would cost almost that, so unless space is at a premium, for instance in a high value city property, they probably aren’t worth it.

Other large projects – extensions, adding a tennis court, swimming pool or cinema room – will cost more than they add, and a dedicated wine cellar, despite costing almost £ 50,000, will add precisely zero to the value, so that is probably only a consideration for the dedicated bon viveur, or someone so sozzled they can’t do their sums.

While the website is fun to play around with, it doesn’t really reflect an accurate picture as every house will present different opportunities.

Adding a bathroom would make a big house a lot more desirable if it started out with a single shower room, but in a home that is already well supplied with smallest rooms, another is not likely to make much difference.

The best way to decide how to add value is to ask an expert, with reference to your own property.

I’m reminded of friends who called in an estate agent to help them decide what to upgrade in their large country property before putting it on the market.

They had set aside a budget of £ 10,000 for improvements and asked the agent what he would spend it on were he selling the house next year – new kitchen, new bathrooms, redecoration?

“A cruise” was his measured reply, explaining that people who buy large country houses tend to want to make their own improvements, whether or not they add value to the property.