Renovations and improvements are great ways to add value to your home, making it more attractive to prospective buyers.
Whether you’re planning to sell or simply want to invest in your home for the future, check out AXA’s handy guide to adding value to your home:
- Getting a valuation before you start
- Converting your house into flats
- Converting your loft into a bedroom
- Adding an extension
- Redecorating and making home improvements
- Will this affect my home insurance?
Getting a valuation before you start
Making changes to add value to your home can be a costly affair. It’s important you know how much your home’s worth before you start on any improvements. That way you can be sure you’re investing in the right places.
You can find out the price of your home by getting a valuation. Local estate agents can help you with this. They will visit your property and value it based on its unique features, the local area, and current market conditions.
Once you’ve had a valuation, you can start to plan how you can bring the best our in your property.
Converting your house into flats
Converting your house into flats can increase the potential value of your home. And in the short term, it could offer you opportunities to start renting.
There are a few questions you should consider before converting your home into flats:
Is there a market for rental homes?
Research the market in your area to see if there’s a demand for rental homes. Converting to flats works best in heavily populated areas where families are looking for homes. Other attractive areas include places where there’s a lot of students or young professionals looking for flats.
You’ll also need to be mindful of the market. Is it a buyer’s market or a seller’s? There are a few factors that will determine this, including how many homes are available to buy and the current cost of living. Depending on the economic situation, there may not be as many buyers on the lookout.
Is my home suitable to turn into flats?
Is your house big enough to convert? You’ll likely need to create 2-3 decent sized flats to be profitable. Will each flat be able to have a separate bathroom and kitchen? Will they each have their own living space? Plan this carefully as each of these features add their own level of value to any flat conversion.
You’ll need the right insurance product to carry out these conversions. For example, someone insured on an owner-occupied policy wouldn’t be covered to do these types of conversions. It’s vital you let your insurer know about any structural changes you’re planning to make.
Can I convert my home into flats without planning permission?
No, you can’t. If you want to turn your home into flats, you’ll need full planning permission before you can start any work. You may also need to consult the fire department about fire escape and safety protocols. Also, The Housing Act 2004 requires any sub-divided buildings meet certain standards.
Converting your loft into a bedroom
Adding another bedroom could add to the value of your home. One of the most common ways to do this is by converting your loft.
You need to let your insurer know if you’re thinking of doing this. These changes may mean your insurer can't insure your property. Or you may need to pay more for your cover.
Most loft extensions also need planning permission due to the level of structural change.
Dormer loft conversion
This is the most popular type of loft conversion. It involves adding a boxed extension that juts out from an existing sloping roof to create more space.
These extensions are cost-effective and need less strict planning permission than other types of conversion. The costs will depend on your loft size, and how long the construction takes. Dormer loft conversions can take quite a while, as you'll need to alter your home’s roof.
Mansard loft conversion
A Mansford loft conversion is built to the rear of a property. This type of conversion changes the structure of a sloped roof so that it becomes nearly straight. A Mansard loft conversion usually creates enough space for multiple rooms, often two bedrooms and a bathroom.
Mansard loft conversions are great for maximising your loft space and don’t need much structural reinforcement. They feel more like an added storey than a converted loft. However, due to all the roof modifications, they can be very expensive.
Hip-to-gable loft conversion
Many properties have a hipped roof with sloping sides at the front and back. This leaves limited loft space, with the only way to convert your roof being an expansion to your property. A hip-to-gable conversion does this by replacing your sloped roof with a vertical wall, known as a gable. From there, you’re free to convert your new loft as you see fit. You can even do this to both sloped sides to create a double hip-to-gable conversion.
Most hip-to-gable conversions fall under the permitted development rules. That means you might not need full planning permission before you start.
Roof light loft conversion
With a roof light conversion, you’re building into the existing roofline of your home. This means you don’t extend the space externally at all.
This type of conversion tends to be cheaper than the previous options, as you’re only adding windows. However, you won’t be getting any additional space for your money. You’ll simply be making the best use of the space you already have.
One downside can be finding space for stairs. Head height stipulations in building regulations mean stairs often need to come up in the centre of the loft as it’s the highest point. But doing this will leave you with less usable space when you’re done.
You’ll need planning permission for front windows, and enough existing height to satisfy building regulations for a bedroom.
Adding an extension
Adding an extension to your home can add a lot of value. Similarly to loft conversions, you’ll want to let your insurer know about any potential changes. That way, you can be sure you’ll still be covered by your current home insurance policy.
Consider the costs of building an extension
When you’re building an extension, you’ll need to bear in mind the cost of building vs your potential value gained. Build costs are charged per square meter and will increase as you begin to add extra stories and rooms. Don’t forget to add on the cost of windows and floors, as well as fixtures and fittings.
There are different types of extension to consider, too. Two common types are:
- Conservatories
Most standard-sized conservatories will qualify as permitted development, so it’s easier to get planning permission for them. Conservatories can be expensive – but skimping on the costs can actually decrease your home’s value. If your conservatory’s not built to a high standard or doesn’t blend in with the rest of the property, it might not add value at all. - Garage conversions
The main benefit of a garage conversion is that you won’t have to sacrifice any garden area to add the extra space. You’ll have to sacrifice parking or storage though, depending on how you currently use your garage. You may want to make sure you have an extra parking space, like a driveway.
Redecorating and making improvements
Not all improvements need a full-scale redesign. Redecorating your house and making small changes to refresh the interior prior to selling will also help add value to the property.
Updating the bathroom
Try adding underfloor heating in the bathroom. Heat rises, so having your source of heat at the lowest possible point saves space and is more efficient. Besides, who wouldn’t love stepping out of a bath or shower onto a lovely warm floor? Also, consider matching the floorboards, tiling and fixtures to those around the house for a cohesive feel.
Adding new floors
Refreshing your floors gives a modern and fresh feel. Be sure to pick the flooring that fits in with the rest of the home’s décor. Also, make sure the flooring you choose is high-quality and durable, as this will give a more polished and luxury-looking finish.
Repainting the house
Clean off any dirty walls around the house and remove any peeling paint. This looks unattractive to any prospective buyers, so make sure it’s all gone before they see it. Repainting walls doesn’t cost much, but can add a lot to the overall appeal of a room.
Replacing broken furniture and appliances
Broken plug sockets or damaged doors are easy and inexpensive to replace, so make sure you sort them out before you show your house. It’s also worthwhile to replace any broken appliances and white goods, particularly if they will be included in your sale.
General wear and tear
General wear and tear is inevitable in houses, but you should address any repairs before your house goes on the market. That means replacing broken light bulbs, cleaning up limescale, or resealing windows and grouting tiles.
As a reminder, wear and tear is excluded from most insurance policies.
Will this affect my home insurance?
It's important to keep your insurer informed of any renovations happening to your home. Changes that increase the square footage or alter the structure of your home can affect your insurance. The type of construction material used may also have an impact on your cover.
Insurers will want to know what type of material has been used for your property’s roof and walls. If a combination is used, most insurers will ask you for the material that makes up the majority of the construction. Not all construction materials are acceptable to insurers, so it's important to update them on any changes.
If you plan on adding any new rooms to your house, you’ll also need to let your insurer know. While some of these changes won’t affect your buildings insurance, others may mean you’ll pay more for your policy. In some cases, you may need to find a new insurer.
