6 Home Improvement Tips If You Are Moving

If you are moving home here are six essential tips recommended by UK Demolition & Construction in Gloucester to add value to your property and to help you improve your selling chances.

Some changes, such as installing an expensive modern kitchen, add less to the final price than they cost, whereas double glazing, en suite bathrooms and woodburning stoves are among the most worthwhile projects.

We are a nation of home improvers. But if you are hoping to add value to your property, there are pitfalls to avoid.

Some changes, such as installing an expensive modern kitchen, add less than they cost to complete, while outlandish enhancements like installing a hot tub or swimming pool in the garden, run the risk of actually reducing a home’s value and its appeal.

Here are some of the improvements that experts say are sure to reap rewards:

FIT DOUBLE GLAZING

Estate agents insist that new double-glazed windows or fitting secondary glazing inside existing windows will add value while making a home more ‘sellable’. Buyers of period homes want wooden window frames. Don’t put plastic in or they’ll start discounting the price,’. Also remember that UPVC plastic may not be permitted in conservation areas.
COST: Maximum £20,000.
ADDED VALUE: Up to 10 per cent of the value of a home.

FASTER BROADBAND

A study involving 3,000 would-be buyers by website Rightmove shows that they avoid properties with sluggish broadband — these days dubbed ‘the fourth utility’ after electricity, gas and water. Superfast broadband is delivered via cable or fibre-optics and means you can stream TV, music or data without delays, with all members of the family using it at once.
If you are in a poor reception area, fit satellite broadband — which means fitting a dish to the house. For this service we recommend www.smart-comms.co.uk in Gloucester.
COST: Packages cost between £17 to £55 per month depending on capacity; the dish and installation is free.
ADDED VALUE: 5-10 per cent.

SMARTEN UP

‘More people are looking at houses from the Fifties, Sixties and Seventies. Simple improvements like rendering unattractive brick and replacing concrete roof tiles with slate increase kerb appeal and value,’.
‘Hanging baskets, flower pots, freshly painting the front door, ensuring the fence is crisp and clean, plus trimming hedges and lawns can create a welcoming impression.’
COST: About £500 for door and window repainting to £10,000 for rendering and repointing.
ADDED VALUE: Up to 10 per cent.

EN-SUITE LUXURY

New-build houses routinely fit them to two or more bedrooms. ‘If you have a four-bedroom house with just one bathroom, add another — an en-suite to the master bedroom, ideally,’. Also fit new taps, a heated towel rail and power shower and use a glass shower screen or door instead of the dreaded shower curtain.
COST: £4,000 to £20,000.
ADDED VALUE: Up to 10 per cent

BRING THE OUTSIDE IN

‘A sunken garden with a fire-pit for adults plus a treehouse for children will attract buyers. Bi-fold doors leading onto the garden give the feeling of an extra reception room,’. If you want something cheaper, increase light and minimise maintenance by removing trees that do not enhance the garden.
COST: About £300 for tree-cutting, £15,000 for a modest garden redesign.
ADDED VALUE: Five to 10 per cent.

BUY A WOODBURNER

An open fire is cosy, but remote-controlled gas, electric, wood or multi-fuelled fires are easier to maintain. While an open fire is 20 per cent fuel-efficient, a woodburner is better, at 75 per cent.
COST: £3,000 and £5,000 for a new fireplace; £2,500 for a woodburner.
ADDED VALUE: Up to 5 per cent.

Here at UK Demolition & Construction we can help with a number of the recommendations above. With a team of builders based in Gloucester UK DC can help with rendering, hard landscaping, doors & windows, soft landscaping and even organise putting your wood burner and surround in place.