The Most Cost Effective Way to Add Value to Your Home

If you want to add value to your property, but don’t have a massive budget, then fear not. There are some simple things you can do yourself that won’t cost the earth, but could offer a good return on investment should you decide to sell.

Give your garden a makeover

Your garden is the first thing that people see when they approach your house. Whether you have a small yard or a flower-bordered patch of grass, how it looks matters. You don’t even have to be particularly green-fingered. The following points are great starters for ten:

• Mow your lawn
• Trim back any bushes
• Pull up weeds and apply weed killer
• Pressure wash your path, decking or any paving stones
• Fix any broken fence panels
• Repaint any fence panels
• Clear any rubbish

Give your home some Curb appeal

Your garden/outside area is important, but it’s only one part of increasing your property’s curb appeal. You also need to think of the exterior of your actual property. Some things you might want to address are:

• Re-painting your front door
• Repainting window frames
• Repointing brickwork
• Replacing cracked or broken cladding
• Repairing a broken or damaged garage door

Let the light in

Letting natural light into your home is really important. Not only will it make you feel less claustrophobic, it will create the illusion of space. Making sure that your windows are clean sounds like an obvious suggestion. However, lots of people don’t realise how dirty their windows are until they actually come to clean them. You can do this yourself for free or you can hire a professional to come on a regular basis to do it for you. Ask neighbours if they can recommend anyone or look online for companies with good reviews.

Install bright energy efficient lights for the winter months as these are the closest thing to natural light when the nights become darker earlier.

If you have any friends who are builders then you could ask them to install either a skylight or sliding doors for a relatively cheap price. These will add that all-important feeling of space and will enable more natural light to filter into your property.

Odd jobs

We all have jobs around the house that we have put off doing til another day. Make that day now by tackling the following:

• Replace any missing or broken door handles
• Re-paint walls, skirting boards and doors/door frames
• Replace any missing tiles in the bathroom or kitchen
• Re-grout tiles
• Plaster over any surface cracks
• Fix leaking taps

If you have carpets then it might be worth hiring a carpet cleaner to freshen them up slightly especially if you have pets. Alternatively, if you have wooden floors then it might be time to give them a fresh lick of varnish to bring them back to life. If there are any nails poking out or loose bits of carpet then tack these down so they are neater and safer.

Lofty heights

You can buy rolls of loft insulation from most larger DIY stores and install it yourself easily enough. Although getting a professional to do the job for you can be a longer-term solution for insulating your property effectively, this racks the cost up significantly. Some home owners are eligible for grants that enable you to make your home more energy efficient without it costing you a lot. The Energy Saving Trust will let you know if you’re eligible and what you need to do to apply. Energy efficient properties will not only have reduced energy bills, but will be much more appealing if you decide to sell your property.

Space saving

A lack of storage space can make your home seem more cluttered. As well as de-cluttering on a regular basis, try to make use of the space you have and incorporate clever storage solutions to keep things tidy. You can build shelving units, add under-bed storage or fit doors to create cupboards. There are all sorts of clever ideas these days. Now is the time to get inventive and look for the following:

• Cellar space – this can be a really useful storage area for items you don’t use very often. If there are any damp issues then make sure that the items you’re storing are protected
• Under the stairs – this is ideal for storing hoovers, linens or even incorporating coat hooks and shoe racks
• Chimney breast dead space – these are great for incorporating fitted wardrobes or dressers as they are out of the way

Looking carefully at the layout of your home will throw up some great storage solution ideas. Once you start looking, you’ll be surprised.

By starting with little to no budget, you’ll soon realise how capable you are of making some big changes to your home that will add value. If you decide to sell your house quickly then a cash buyer like The Property Buying Company could help. They’ll factor in any work you’ve done to your property in order to offer you a fair price.

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