WWYD: If you had just £10,000...

[SaJoRo]

...what would you spend it on to make the biggest return on investment for your property?

This is not just hypothetical. I have a three bed semi that I want to spend some money on to increase value, without over-capitalising. Eventually, I want to demolish the derelict garage and replace it with a side extension (spare room + en-suite + utility room) but can't borrow enough yet. So I'm trying to decide what I can do in the short term to improve the value of the house.

House already has a gorgeous conservatory and lovely garden. Bedrooms and lounge need decorating. Kitchen is ok but could be better. Bathroom has been given a cheap makeover by previous owners but is nothing much to look at. Loft is not converted.

Any thoughts?

Conservatory

Which direction is your conservatory?

Do you have a floor plan of your house from when you bought it?

I wouldn’t do anything. Save the 10K toward the extension

Same as Notness

If you were selling soon, I’d say replace the bold paint colours with a more toned down palette or neutrals. But I’m not sure this the time for it if you’re planning to stay and extend.

I'm agreeing with the PP who said nothing structural, my head is turned by your kitchen and by your conservatory, which is the project I am now working up to.

What stats is the paintwork and carpets in the bedrooms and hallway?

Oh, and it's just my personal taste, but my fingers itched to clear the 'stuff' left out in the kitchen and on top of the 'fridge. Otherwise, i loved what we saw, its gorgeous.

Change the roof is the conservatory so it's more orangery ?

The things that increase value are more usable space. Your extension will do that. Don't get rid of the garage though, storage space is useful and important.

If you are planning on living in the house for at least 10 years I really wouldn't get caught up on trying to increase the value now. Be careful not to go beyond the ceiling price for the street.

I would buy a new blind to pick up on the colour in the bathroom. You could change kitchen cupboards doors if you wanted but I would be inclined to save it too. Wow! To the conservatory what a great space.

Conservatory blinds....if its too hot in the summer?

I'm with previous posters that I wouldn't do anything and put the money towards the extension.

I'm not sure why you want to "add value"when you're obviously not selling. Unless you are trying to increase the valuation in order that you can remortgage to finance the extension. In this case, it's unlikely to make a jot of difference. New kitchen units, bathroom suites and decor don't usually add value per se, they usually increase saleability. They make the house more desirable so achieving asking price or having the price pushed up by receiving multiple offers is more likely. What they don't do is add much to how a lender values the property. It is a trueism that you rarely get back as much as you put it.

Otherwise adding value now is irrelevant because who knows what the property market will be like when you do sell, and what buyers will be prepared to pay then.

I'd only spend money doing things that you really want or need to do because this is your home. Try not to focus on the nebulous concept of value.

I would keep saving and build over the garage rather than converting the whole garage. Most families need at least some of the garage space for storage etc.

What others have said; changes to the existing house would perhaps increase saleability/useability but tend not to increase value so I’d save the money towards extension. Once the extension is a reality, then you could consider loft conversion when there is more room on second floor to accommodate a staircase.

I would consider a solid roof for the conservatory to make it more like an extension/more thermally efficient and useable year round but would research whether the increased value is greater than cost.

And agree, focus on making a home you enjoy living in, unless your plan is to sell imminently. Fashions change so what “adds value” now might not five years down the line. Probably only extra actual useful floor space (eg building over garage) is likely to definitely add sustained value.

Your conservatory is lovely!!

Thanks for all your replies. Can I just say, these are the real estate photos from when we bought, so not my clutter!

I should also clarify the reason I want to increase value now is so I can borrow more against the house for the extension.

subtitleson, the conservatory faces east. I don't have the floor plan on my laptop but I will try to dig out the hard copy and scan it.

finallyhere thank you, the conservatory is the thing that makes people say "wow" when they walk in. Our master bedrooms needs paint and my daughter's bedroom is a fantastic combo of four different walls - one yellow, one charcoal and two different wallpapers!! It is a sight to behold, believe me. So stripping and painting it white and carpeting is one of my priorities. (I've already done this with my son's tiny room).

pigpoglet & citigirl Interesting - that's exactly what my husband wants to do. The conservatory is ridiculously sunny in summer, so either tiling it or putting shade sails in is an option (though one quote for shade sails was £2500!!!). I worry about losing the wow factor.

wowfudge Unfortunately I have to get rid of the garage as it's derelict and literally falling down. I'm in two minds whether to build another garage in the extension or just make it a spare room. Do you think the loss of storage will be a big issue?

bowerbird yes, I've thought about painting the kitchen cupboards but wonder if it's worth the effort. I'd also like to replace the bold red with a white subway tile splashback.

caroin Thank you, that is the sort of straight talking advice I need! I want to borrow against the value of the house for the extension but I am unsure what the house is actually worth now. As far as I can tell the only true way to find out what the house is worth to the bank is to apply for the increased loan and keep our fingers crossed that it's not declined and looks bad on our (already slightly tenuous) credit file.

I would like to sell in the next two or three years to move back to Australia. And because Sydney is sooooo mindblowingly expensive, I need to make sure we make the most of this house so we can go back with a decent deposit. The house prices in this area are on an upward trend. In fact the house two doors from us which is not as big as ours (though has been decorated beautifully) recently sold for nearly £60K more than we paid two years ago.

Thanks again for the help! I'm going round in circles trying to make decisions!!

Things you do internally / decoratively won’t increase the value for remortgage though, they don’t value your property like that even if they come round (and most likely the won’t, they’ll just do a desktop) they won’t even take into account things like a conservatory.

Get a few estate agents round to value it. And ask them what, if anything, would add value.
If you are looking to sell within a year or two they may say you are better off just hanging on to the £10K rather than spending it on something a future buyer may or may not want.

A lot of the increase in value just comes from the general property market trends rather than tinkering with the decor.

Thanks member and NeverTwerkNaked (lol). Appreciate your thoughts. I would LOVE to go all out and do a two storey extension, rebuilding garage and extending bedroom 3 (or adding bed 4) over the top. But money. Maybe I need to do as you say and just focus on the things that make us happy and comfortable for the time being.

I've seen a few houses with a half garage.
They steal rear of the garage and integrate it into extension, but keep the front half as a storage space.

Yes NeverTwerkNaked, I have an agent coming around tomorrow, so that'll be interesting.

(I’ve done nothing to house in past four years- in fact it looks worse than when we bought (thank you toddlers ) and it’s gone up from £210K to £290k in that time. I asked various estate agents if I should do anything before selling and they all advised me not to and they were right. Our buyers know what they want to do with the house.
Similarly we are buying a house with lots of space but ghastly decor. We don’t mind, we wouldn’t want to pay for someone else’s “perfect” house.

So ask some estate agents who know your local market

tOoh, interesting. That could be an option. Thanks.

You know, NeverTwerkNaked, I'm feeling so less stressed having had this conversation!! I didn't consider that doing nothing was an option! Maybe I'll just paint and carpet and leave it at that...

Tbh you might not even need to do that. Like I say, get a few local estate agents round. They’ll know what sells and what is a waste of money