Adding value

By Claire Wright

Build & Renovate Today chats with Anthony Bown, Licensed Building Practitioner and Registered Master Builder, about how to make the most out of your home extension

Trendset Build, winner of the Waikato Supreme Renovation Award and Bunnings Renovation over $1 million, for a home in Hamilton. Photo courtesy of Debbie Moore.

When people are looking to renovate homes, they usually know what they want – a bigger bedroom or an additional bathroom – but don’t delve into why they need the extra space. “The process is quite complex, and it changes from building to building. Of course, it has to be a site-specific response that both corresponds to what the client’s trying to achieve and what the building will allow us to do within the compliance format,” Smith & Sons Port Hills owner and builder, Anthony Bown says. Understanding the why of your renovation project is key to the project’s success – your builder may be able to recommend an alternative solution that will match your needs more specifically than your original idea. This goes beyond what renovations would increase the market value of your home. In theory when houses are valued, a registered valuer will take the number of bedrooms and bathrooms in the house to base a projected sales price off of using something akin to a recipe, Anthony says. The reality is not quite so simple, though. “One of the things we can do is make the house really appeal to your needs, which adds value because it’s got a whole lot of usability. It broadens the market, and it entices more people to look at the house.”

Anthony uses the example of a six-bedroom home where the client would like to add an ensuite. The client loses a bedroom to do it, however, it gains value with two bathrooms in it.

Losing a bedroom will theoretically devalue the house, Anthony says, but any real estate agent will say that it doesn’t matter how much you think your house is worth – at the end of the day, it’s about the buyers you’re trying to sell it to. “When you go to renovate your house, you should stop and consider why. If you’re doing it to make money, then you’re going to have a totally different outcome. You’re going to drive it in a totally different fashion.

“For others, it’s not about creating value in the house. It’s about creating a space where their built environment they live in on a constant basis responds to their needs.”

Small changes, big results

One of the smallest changes a homeowner can make while renovating with the biggest results are maximising light and heat.

Things like better insulation and a solid heating system, as well as double glazing, will do wonders for not only your house but for your wellbeing.

Photo courtesy of Tane Menzies.

Smith & Sons renovation process

Phase 1: Design Phase 2: Planning Phase 3: Construction

Phrase 4: Completion. “You want to feel that where you live is a place you want to be. If you make small changes that make you want to be there, those changes are worthwhile, yeah? If you don’t enjoy that environment, why would you want to be there? “As I said before, we’re trying to make the building respond to our needs, knowing they will add value. “People don’t [often] spend money on high quality insulation – they don’t see it completely changing their quality of life. “However, it does if you come home and you don’t have to turn the heater on because it’s still warm. “ Quality of life is vital, and more and more people realised this when they were forced to stay indoors due to Covid lockdowns and restrictions.

Pair that with the fact that people have savings left over from once-in-a-lifetime trips that had to be cast to the wayside, it’s no wonder that people are looking to invest and get the most out of their homes.

There’s a saying in the construction industry – the best time to build (or renovate) is now. It looks like a lot of homeowners are taking that advice to heart.

Smith & Sons Port Hills (027) 452 2047 anthony.bown@smithandsons.co.nz www.smithandsons.co.nz