Best ways to boost the value of your home

Robert Powell reveals what really adds pounds to the price of your property...

Home improvements are a very British infatuation. Rarely a weekend goes by in my family home without someone hammering, painting or – more often than not – breaking something in the house!

But what improvements will really add value to your home?

A lofty price boost

HSBC has done some new research on this very subject. The property valuers questioned by HSBC believed that a loft conversion was likely to add the most value to a home – providing an average boost of £20,876. Re-carpeting your property was thought to add just £2,153 to a property’s value, the lowest boost of all the home improvements. In fact, 38% of the valuers said that fitting new carpets would add no value at all to a property’s price.

Here are the full figures...

Source: HSBC

As you can see, extending a room was also thought to be a fairly safe bet for homeowners looking to boost their property’s value, with all the valuers stating that this improvement would add something to a property’s price.

Of course, if you are planning to re-surface your driveway or re-carpet the house, it’s more than likely that you’ll have other reasons outside of the possible financial gains. So you shouldn’t let these stats completely put you off, but still it is important to stay completely clued up as to the possible gains of improving your home in certain ways.

While these figures are useful for getting an idea of the possible boosts you can give to your property, they do not include the costs of actually undertaking the work. Of course this initial outlay will vary from property to property and in this climate could very well wipe out any potential gain brought about by the improvement.

Before you part with any cash it’s essential to figure out exactly what home improvements you want done and how much it will cost. Sites like My Deco and modelrooms.com can help you get an idea of how you want to improve your property while growyourhome.com and whatprice.co.uk will assist with the costing.

There are also several simple ways you can save a few pounds on your home improvements.

Save money

Free/second hand deals: Scour sites like Freegle and Freecycle for free furniture. Earlier this year a friend of mine managed to get hold of a free sofa, armchair and TV – all for the price of a few car journeys to pick them up!

Second-hand and auction sites like Gumtree and eBay are also potential goldmines for home improvement bargains.

Revamp, don’t replace: If a chest of drawers or cupboard is looking a little tired or missing an appendage, you should look at repairing and revamping it before you shell out for a brand new unit. Sites like The Kitchen Doctor and Replacement Kitchen and Bedroom Doors can sort you out with new fixtures and fittings for a variety of furniture. Or you can simply pop along to your local DIY store or Ikea branch and pick up the replacement items at a fairly modest price.

Similarly, if your cupboards, pillows or sofas have become a little worn and jaded why not just re-paint or dye them in a colour of your choice!

Bargain kitchens: If you’re planning on replacing your kitchen, it might be an idea to take a look at some second-hand or used fittings before shelling out for a brand spanking new one. Check out Kitchen Synch, Cupboard Love and The Used Kitchen Company.

Haggle: From labour quotes to furniture charges, make sure you always haggle for a cheaper price! Check out The secret to second hand haggling for some tips.

Recycle: If you’re filling your home with new improvements, chances are you’ll need to get rid of the old furniture. But don’t just throw this out! You could try flogging any unwanted items on eBay or Gumtree or just list it for free on Freecycle or Freegle.

Do it yourself: If there are any improvements you think you can do yourself, do them! But be realistic and take all necessary safety precautions. There’s no point in risking life and limb just to save a few quid on the overall bill. It’s also worth consulting sites like Home Improvement Advice and Lets Fix It before you embark on anything major.

How to pay

Ensuring you finance your home improvements in the most effective and appropriate way will also help you keep costs down and hassle to a minimum. Obviously the most desirable way to pay for anything is by getting hold of a high-interest savings account and building up a nest-egg. But as we all know, putting away enough cash to finance major property renovations is far easier said than done, meaning that many will turn to credit options when thinking about paying for their home improvement bill.

For small and medium-sized jobs such as redecorating, repairing or re-carpeting you might want to think about getting hold of a 0% purchase credit card. This will allow you spend without paying any interest and then repay the balance over a series of months at 0%. Tesco Bank is currently offering 15 months at 0% on all purchases made using their Clubcard Credit Card while Barclaycard and Sainsbury’s Finance both have 12 month 0% deals.

Just remember, if you do choose this option, make sure you pay off the full balance before the end of the 0% period or you’ll be hit with hefty interest charges. If you really can’t clear the whole balance it may be worth shifting the debt onto a 0% balance transfer card and giving yourself extra time to pay it off.

If you’re planning a larger home improvement job and your bill starts exceeding £5,000 you might want to consider using a low APR for life credit card or even an unsecured loan. The best loan rates at the moment will allow you to borrow anything between £7,500 and £14,999 for up to five years. Sainsbury’s Finance leads the pack with 6.8% rate, closely followed by Alliance & Leicester on 6.9%.

If you need anything more than £15,000 you’ll probably have to either take out a secured loan or remortgage your property. However these credit agreements could prove risky and very expensive if you are unable to meet the repayments, and hence should not be entered into without extremely serious thought. Head to our comprehensive loan guide to find out more.

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