pROpERTY

Features that add vaLUE TO YOUR HOmE

With the housing market in its current state, the sensible homeowner’s mantra should be ‘don’t move but improve. With this in mind, Lucy Searle came up with tips and advice to help boost your home’s value so that staying put won’t just make sense financially, it will be an absolute pleasure.

When you’re planning and tightening your budget, the last thing you want to do is spend unnecessary money on your home so it’s worth researching which home improvements will boost your home’s value and which will devalue your property. That way, every cent spent will be spent wisely.

An extension could add between 10 and 50% to the value of your home, depending on its size and how well it’s finished. Here are some tips on how to add features that can add value to your home: extension to create a larger kitchen. Got a huge garden but a small house? Put on a double storey extension to create the family home of your dreams. A loft conversion could also add up to 10% to the value of your home and, unlike a ground floor extension; it won’t steal space from the garden. Get a bedroom and extra bathroom up there, if you can.

• Planning a new kitchen is an absolute must for anyone seriously looking to boost their property’s value - it could add up to 10% to your property value. It’s the first thing a potential buyer will look for in the future and it’s also the room in which you’re likely to spend much of your time particularly if it is a kitchen and living space all in one. You have to pick one that matches the style of your home - so choose a contemporary kitchen for a modern home, or something more traditional for a period property.

Replacing your kitchen doors and old appliances with new, good quality appliances will go a long way giving your kitchen that just-renovated feel, but at a fraction of the cost. Replacing kitchen wall tiles and worktops will instantly smarten up a tatty kitchen, as will new hard flooring throughout.

• Squeezing in an en suite bathroom could add up to 5% to the value of your home, assuming you don’t sacrifice a valuable bedroom for it. Revamping your bathroom will improve and add to the appeal of your home. You don’t need to hire a plumber to do all of the work if you’re a competent DIYer (Do it Yourself).

Fitting a new sink isn’t as hard as you’d think, while re-tiling the walls and floor, grouting and sealing around a basin or bath is easy, too. If you’ve got the budget, why not splash out and replan and fit a whole new bathroom?

Good bathroom lighting won’t just make it feel like a home spa but will make it seem larger, too.

necessarily expensive way to improve your home. Paint is the cheapest way – and there are lots of easy to live with, space-enhancing colour schemes to choose from. With a little practice, anyone can create their own paint effects in a colour scheme to exactly match their taste. Stencilling is really making a credit crunch comeback, too, because it can create an expensive look at a minimal cost. Or, if painting isn’t your greatest skill, how about sticking? Wall stickers cost a fraction of what wallpaper would, but their impact on a room is just as great – and they’re incredibly easy to apply. • Replacing old, worn or outdated carpets can transform a room instantly. Current carpet trends are for bold colours and patterns, but for a look you won’t tire of, go for something classic, neutral and easy to live with that’s made to last.

• Spend time and money now to sort out plumbing problems, identify and deal with damp, and restore fittings and fixtures.

• Find ways to save energy at home, and then use the money you save to spend on more eco-friendly improvements. One way is to improve the insulation in your home. You will not only cut your electricity bills – it will also make your home more ecofriendly. And if you’re looking to redesign your home to be green - you can do it all by choosing to buy recycled, used or antique furniture over anything newly made. Turning a neglected plot into a glamorous garden can have a real impact on your home and how you feel about it, let alone adding to its overall value. You don’t need to spend a fortune – just a few clever ideas and regular maintenance can do the trick.

• If you have a large garden and want to add a little more indoor space without building an extension, why not consider an outdoor room? These will give you space for anything from home, office to an extra lounging area to somewhere for the children to play.

Of course, you might want to spruce your garden up just by adding an outdoor dining set, whether wooden, metal or funky and contemporary. Source Home-Dzine Online

Survey Shows Low Property Upgrades

Residential building statistics of South Africa for January 2013 and FNB first quarter Estate Agent Survey continued to paint a bleak picture for the residential additions and upgrades market. In the FNB Estate Agent Survey for the first quarter, the sample of agents surveyed continued to point to a gradual improvement in the levels of home maintenance, but no perceived improvement in the low level of value adding upgrades. In the January survey, agents estimated an average of 3% of home owners who were letting their homes get run down, 10% of the participants were attending to basic maintenance, 38% were fully maintaining their homes, 45% maintaining fully and making some improvements and only 3% were making value adding upgrades to their properties. FNB Household and Consumer Sector Strategist, John Loos said: “This is encouraging, especially from a bank point of view where many homes provide security for home loans. Since the 2008/9 recession we have seen a big decline in the percentage of homeowners in the two lowest level categories of letting homes get run down and only attending to basic maintenance. Whereas the total estimate for these two categories combined was as high as 38% as at the November 2008 survey, this had diminished to an estimated 13% of total homeowners by the first quarter of 2013.” According to the survey, the overwhelming majority of homeowners now find themselves in the full maintenance and full maintenance with some improvements categories. For these two categories, the combined total percentage has risen from 49% in November 2008 to 73% by the first quarter of 2013. Loos says the improvement in the level of home maintenance after 2008/9 recession and high interest rates appear to have had a noticeable impact on Real Growth in Retail Sales for Retailers of Hardware, Paint and Glass Products. “However, the level of maintenance may have more or less normalised at higher levels after the earlier slump and as a result we have seen Hardware, Paint and Glass Products Real Retail Sales Growth tapering back to near zero in recent months.” He said there haven’t been any noticeable improvements in the value adding upgrades to homes which comprise an estimated 3% of home owners in the first quarter 2013 Estate Agent Survey. “This percentage was as high as 23% in early 2008, but slumped as recession hit later that year, and has never really recovered meaningfully,” Loos commented.