Amid the almost universal economic trouble of 2020, the UK property market is actually enjoying a mini boom. Thanks to government efforts to reignite the market in the form of eliminating stamp duty, potential buyers have the opportunity to save up to £15,000 if they move home before April 2021.
While it’s too early to understand the true effect of the coronavirus pandemic on housing prices, general opinion is that sellers will face downwards pressure on rates in the mid-term, making the next six months a potentially crucial selling window. So if you are considering a sale, now is the time to strike.
When selling, the priority is naturally to maximise the value of your property, and while there are a number of ways to do this – such as larger renovation work – the limited timeframe stated above means options are limited in the short term. However, there are a number of simple, quick changes that you can make to enhance the value of your home presale.
Introduce smart tech
According to Good Housekeeping and mytoolshed.co.uk, splashing out just short of £200 on smart tech in the home can enhance its value by up to £16,000. While those figures seem rather adventurous, there’s no doubt that installing some smart devices in your home will help your cause.
The key here is to fine a line between realism and ambition. With time limited and a high likelihood that you won’t want to spend a fortune investing in the property at this current moment, your best bet is to look to smaller smart installs that will still make a big impression. Good Housekeeping lists six options that will cost you as little as £20:
- Smart plugs
- Smart bulbs
- Smart thermostats
- Smart speakers
- Smart appliances
- Wi-Fi connected security cameras
Revamp the garden
Having a garden in the first place obviously adds a significant chunk of value onto your home, but did you know the quality and state of the upkeep of your grassy outdoor patch can make a huge difference?
Returning to research from mytoolshed.co.uk, a well-kept garden can apparently add up to 20% onto the value of your home – that’s an average of over £45,000 across the UK, with numbers up to double that in London where outdoor space is both highly limited and desirable. The things you can do to ensure your lawn fits the bill:
- Mow the lawn
- Paint the fences
- General weeding
- Update the patio and decking
- Introduce features such as garden zones, potted plants, outdoor lighting and water features
- Create better privacy and security
- Introduce a shed or outbuilding
Update the kitchen
Depending on your current financial situation, anything up to a full install of a new kitchen could be very much worth your time. The kitchen is the focal point for many buyers, thus it needs to be one of the areas of the house that really makes a positive impression. Having a new kitchen to show off could entice buyers who don’t want to deal with doing an install themselves to pay a notable mark up on your investment.
If you can’t afford a complete rework, then a touch up will also help. That can come in the form of replacing some key units, the aforementioned introduction of smart appliances, or even a lick of paint of the walls.
Replace the doors
Much of the same “first impressions count” stuff goes for your front door. Once your would-be buyers are past your newly spruced up garden, the next thing up will be your door, so it’s a key piece of your welcome efforts that can send things the wrong way if in poor shape.
Like the kitchen, a full replacement will be worth it, but a paint and a polish will suffice if it’s not financially viable.
Quick but important fixes
There are a number of smaller bits to look out for around the house that don’t take long to sort and do matter. Propertymark.co.uk offers a list of the basics:
- Get rid of any peeling paint
- Clean any dirty walls, especially in crevices around doors frames and switches
- Fix any dripping taps, squeaky floors, doors or stairs
- Address any mouldy sealant in kitchens and bathrooms
- Look out for any limescale build up on kitchen and bathroom fittings
- Fix poorly fitted laminate flooring
- Replace any broken lightbulbs
There’s plenty of home improvement options to go at here. To what extent you go after such improvements really depends on your budget and the time you have to invest into your property within the next few months. However, with some impressive statistics available on how much value the fixes listed above can add on, you might want to make some space in your schedule.
