Maximise the Value of Your Home through Changes

IT only takes a few changes to transform the value of your house.

At a time of relatively little activity in the property market in this part of the country, key alterations to a house can make all the difference to a viable sale. By renovating certain parts of the house you can make it far more attractive to potential buyers and ultimately generate interest from a number of parties in the hope of sparking competition for the purchase.

Making the changes in the right areas is key, however. Don’t waste money and time by changing things potential buyers would see as largely irrelevant. This is especially relevant if your home is pre Celtic-Tiger and in need of changes anyway; should no offers materialise you will at least have a much nicer home in which to live.

Look at the big things first like heat, insulation, dryness. Is it an energy efficient dwelling? If not, there are a number of changes that can be secured for good value today that can make all the difference.

Double and tripleglazed windows are more reasonable than ever and can maximise both the appearance and heat-retention capacity of a home. You don’t have to go for the highest standard wooded frame as there exists a great range of PVC variations out there, from ivory to standard white frames. Price your options from the big suppliers in the region. Just be sure to think of the timeframe as the windows will be made to measure and can take months from the initial order to installation.

Is your heating efficient? Old oil-fired boilers and rads might be past their sell-by date, but a new system does entail a major job so it pays to weigh-up all the pros and cons carefully.

Insulation can be improved relatively cheaply – if only by laying down a new layer of insulation in the attic. There are many options available from cavity-wall to much else and remember that double or triple-glazed windows also have a massive impact on keeping heat in the home.

Meanwhile, the cosmetic changes come cheaper and can make just as big an impression on would-be buyers. Fire out old carpets and replace with bright new threads and think about areas in the home that would benefit from floorboards or tiles.

If renovating a hall, tiles can really transform the space. Not only can they deliver a sleeker, classier appearance than heretofore, but they also reflect light rather than deaden it as with old carpets and generally lift the whole atmosphere of what is, after all, the first space prospective buyers will enter.

Read the magazines, keep your eyes open in others’ homes and set out all your ideas on paper – before long you will have a clear idea of where you are going in the project.