Is it Worth Renovating your Home For a Sale

Date Published 15 April 2024

Renovation brings to mind repairing or restoring a dilapidated property back to being in a good condition, although in fact it means much more than that.

It also means making something new or bringing it back to life and that's why many people ask us if it's something they should consider before putting their home on the market.

Both interior and exterior renovation projects can take many forms, some can be large scale projects and others much smaller. However, when building work of any kind is going on around you in your home it can be disruptive and stressful - let alone costly!

However, the end results can end up making your property worth much more than the costs involved, so how can you decide whether it's a good idea for you or not?

Gain versus cost
Almost any improvement work will increase the potential sale price of a home as long as it is done to a high standard and actually adds something of value.

Another major consideration is to make sure that any work is fully compliant with all the relevant rules and regulations, which can cover everything from building control, planning permission and health and safety laws.

Taking all of this into account, there are several tried and tested ways to add value to your home over and above the outlay involved.

Loft conversion
A loft conversion can be quite a large building project and having it done by a reputable specialist firm won't be cheap. However, if it is purposed as a bedroom it will definitely add value to your home and in many cases this can mean as much as 15% extra on the market value.

Options include a fairly straightforward 'roof light conversion', which needs the least amount of structural work and is therefore the most cost-effective. A mansard conversion where one or both slopes of the roof are replaced with a new structure with steeper sides and an almost flat roof is more expensive but results in a much larger space being added to your floor plan.

The type of conversion and the location of your home will affect whether the work falls under permitted development rules or if it needs planning permission.

A new bathroom
Having scaffolding up and potentially removing and remodelling your roof might be a little more than you had in mind when you thought about adding value to your home in preparation for selling it!

Thankfully there are less disruptive options that are also less costly too. For instance, updating your bathroom can add in the region of 3-5% to the value of your home and be done on a tighter budget.

Keeping your existing layout will help lower outlays as repositioning a bath, shower or basin can involve relocating outlet pipes and water inlets. Adding a shower enclosure or updating your existing one to a modern frameless design can make an impressive difference, and simply choosing a full modern suite can be an easy fix for a tired and dated look.

Time and effort
As well as cost, any work that is significant enough to add value to your property is bound to come at a cost that involves time and effort as well as money. This can be an important part of making a decision, because your timescale might mean that you want to get things moving now as opposed to three or four months down the line.

The state of the local property market also pays a part - the time it takes for the work to be done might mean the percentage points you add to the value now might be lost when you're ready to go to market.

As with every other aspect involved with selling your home, we're happy to offer advice on whether it would be a good idea for you to think of doing any work on your home. Get in touch today and we can help you make the decision that's right for you.

Call 01903 501105, email us, or visit us in the office at 325 Goring Road, Goring by Sea BN12 4NX.