Our homes are our most expensive asset and when selling we want to achieve the best price possible. Luckily, adding value to your home does not need to cost the earth a few relatively small changes could make a significant difference. Here are a few options for those looking to boost their sale price today.
Add some plants
Adding a little greenery to your home is in vogue at the moment. Not only do plants liven up a room, the greenery is calming and maintaining a few indoor plants is simple and far more affordable than a pet. Indeed, house plants have become an Instagram trend in recent months, with green-fingered millennials sharing over 2.2 million posts of trailing greenery to the hashtag #plantsofinstagram.
For those with a garden then landscaping could raise your property value by 77 per cent according to some estate agents, but even those without any outdoor space can bring calmness and colour to their home with a few pot plants. And not only will the greenery invite buyers to feel at ease in the property, but you can also take them with you when you leave!
Change the lighting
It is easy to think of lighting fixtures as functional elements of a home, but they can also be features. Lampshades can be a great source of colour to offset the magnolia and bring a little interest to a room, and whether you have an overhead light or a series of uplighters can significantly change how people see the same four walls.
People generally prefer airy and light rooms, and whilst windows may be the best source of light, a few well positioned lighting fixtures can bring make a room feel more open and spacious and feel more valuable.
Update the flooring
Flooring tends to be the biggest giveaway about the state of a property, and old tired lino or worn-out carpets are sure to put buyers off. Updating the flooring may feel like it should be expensive, but if your carpets have seen better days they can be replaced for as little as £10 per square metre.
If you would prefer wood flooring, some people are lucky enough to have great-looking floorboards hiding beneath their carpets when they pull them up, which can be restored to their former beauty. However, it can also be relatively affordable to add new wooden flooring to a room. After testing out some flooring samples you could have a sparkling new floor in your sitting room in no time for under £25 per metre.
Repaint your front door
As the entry point to your home, but the first impression a buyer will have will be your front door. If your door is looking cracked and the paintwork has started to peel then that will make a buyer feel your house will need some work even if the interior is immaculate. Fortunately, repainting the door is affordable and a quick task.
The colour you paint your door is also important. Recent research by property analysts found that a blue door can add as much as £4,000 to the price of a home and a red door can add £3,400. In contrast, a brown door could reduce the value of a house by £700.
