With demand for Scottish properties remaining high and property prices reaching record levels, as a homeowner you may be considering ways to ensure your home is as valuable as possible. Whether that’s in preparation for selling now, or in the future.
Luckily, no matter what size your home, there are many simple ways of adding value to your property that can either allow you to prolong your stay, prepare for the future or ensure it sells quickly – even in the current fast-paced property market.
Uncover and restore original features
As we uncovered in our previous article ‘What’s top of your property wishlist?’, those searching for homes at the moment are keen to find properties with original features such as fireplaces, wooden floors and stained-glass windows. So if your home is of a certain age, there may be some original features just waiting to be uncovered. Over time, things like doors and floors have been modernised to make them more appealing as trends changed over time. But these are easy to find and restore with some sanding and oiling. Wooden doors that are loaded with layers of paint can be sent to specialised companies to be ‘dripped and stripped’, many offering this service for less than £50 per door.
Embrace open plan living
Open plan living is not a new trend but by far the most common in many homes these days. Whether you’re a family looking for more space by combining kitchen and dining areas, or a young couple keen for a larger socialising space, if you’ve got a wall that it’s the way, it may be time for it to come down. Don’t think of it as losing a room, think of it as making two smaller awkward rooms into a more cohesive living space. This option can add more value to your home than upgrading your kitchen for example. Remember with any structural work, get a qualified builder, check your building warrants and planning permissions, and get multiple quotes for the work.
Update your central heating and wiring
Some of the biggest investments when it comes to your property and its value are the things that are hidden away. Ensuring that the wiring is up to code and that your heating is as efficient as possible can not only help with your living costs but also ensure that the home is in its optimum selling condition. It will also mean that the home report and subsequent surveys don’t highlight any issues for prospective buyers. As the homeowner, you’ll benefit too by ensuring your home is energy efficient and you’ll avoid any costly repairs further down the line. Investing in smart energy devices such as lightbulbs, thermostats and even solar panels for your home will also help you as the owner to reduce costs and help the environment – a worthy cause whether you are looking to sell or not.
Adding an extra room
Sadly, not a viable consideration for every homeowner, but adding an additional room either as a bedroom or bathroom can add value to your home. And it doesn’t always need to involve extending. Converting an existing, unused space like a loft or garage allows you to grow into your home and could mean avoiding the upheaval of moving to a bigger home. Garages and lofts are amazing sources of storage but if they are just clutter collectors then they aren’t adding value to your home as they are. Remember there are much better, smarter storage solutions you can integrate into your home. Bathrooms can also be much more valuable to prospective buyers than bedrooms, so converting an under-stair cupboard or utility room could also be an option. A small WC can be easy to install and relatively low cost, with some even coming with their own plumbing solutions.
Tidy up your outdoor space
Again, the size of outdoor space your home has, if any, depends on the property itself. This can range from a small balcony to a large garden and even a driveway. Buyers are keen to snap up properties with outdoor space to enjoy the rare Scottish summer so if you can enhance this by tidying it up or even creating a new space entirely, not only will it attract buyers, but it’ll give you somewhere to relax. If you’re lucky enough to have a large garden but feel overwhelmed by the space, try and create sections such as an area for play and a quieter seating area using decking, slabs or stones. If you have a small balcony, even a little bistro set can make the area much more welcoming and useful.
If you’re ready to sell your home and move on, or even to get some inspiration, you can search thousands of great Scottish properties at s1homes.com today.