Page 36 - Redbrik: Property & Lifestyle Magazine SPRING 2018

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ADDING VALUE TO YOUR HOME
WRITTEN BY
MICHAEL PARRY
MICHAEL.PARRY@REDBRIK.CO.UK
Whether you’ve just bought a property, are blissfully settled or are looking to sell, there are many ways to breathe life into your property, add a bit of extra space and ultimately add value when the time comes to sell.
If you want to work your way up the property ladder to your dream home, you need to know how to maximise the value of where you live now.
There are plenty of ways to increase the value of your home – from renovations, extensions and big decorating jobs, to smaller, more budget-conscious updates that will help boost your home’s selling power.
We would always advise that before you bring in the builders and the sca olding, it’s a good idea to check with a trusted local estate agent like Redbrik as to whether a signi cant home improvement will add value
to your property, and if there are any particular areas of the property worth focusing on.
All homes have a ceiling price so it’s vital to make sure that any renovation costs do not outweigh the potential pro t or value you may add.
Take a look at this guide to the most to most popular, and proven, ways to increase your property’s value and ultimately boost its selling power.
1. PLAN A LOFT CONVERSION
A loft conversion is the most cost-
e ective way to gain extra living space, and you should be able to do it if your home was built before 1975 and/or the loft has a maximum headroom of 2.3m. Most lofts can be converted, but it’s worth getting an architect or builder to double check before you start.
Once you start planning, you’ll need to get to grips with the types of conversions available. Options range from a roof light conversion, which requires the least amount of structural work and so is the most cost-e ective, to a more expensive mansard conversion. Here, one or both slopes of the roof are replaced with a new structure, with steeper sides and an almost at roof.
Work on converting an attic usually costs from around £20,000 – although
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