With a large number of renovating shows on television at the moment, it’s only natural for home-owners to ask: “can I possibly add value to my house? If they can do it, so can I!” This article highlights a few tips and traps when renovating homes. It starts with what to look out for and ends with some rules to maximise your value adding capacity.
The major culprits of not adding value to residential properties would have to be the high-end mod cons which costs 3 – 4 times more than a similar product that will impress the independent valuer/buyer in a very similar manner. These things can range from a custom built swimming pool, high end kitchen cabinetry with the top of the line european appliances and expensive fixtures & fittings for your kitchens and bathrooms. You can imagine paying 3 – 4 times more for each individual item can considerably blow your budget out or at least help you ease into a place where you are overcapitalising.
Items that typically push the budget and decrease your chances of adding value to your home are your high end: door handles, ornate windows,stone bath tubs, cooktops & ovens, basins, shower rails & handles, shower heads, custom made vanities and custom made anything!
You must remember that something you love does not necessarily translate to more dollars in your bank account specially when prospective buyers and valuers are typically on a box ticking exercise when walking around your property. A quick example of this is: the bottom of the line miele oven that costs $1,600 will have as much of a wow factor as the top of the line $15,000 oven. Multiple mod cons such as these can suck the value out of your renovation dry.
Renovations aren’t easy and adding value to a property is certainly not a walk in the park. If prospective value-adders stick to some simple rules, they should come out the other end with more dollars in their pocket.
Some of these rules are:
Renovating for profit can be a massive burden on your time, health & budget. It is not for everyone. For people considering to do so, ensure you start small as biting off more than you can chew is a very common occurrence. Plan accordingly and capture all of your ideas in one central place. This will save you hundreds of hours of discomfort and thousands upon thousands of dollars.
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