From painting to upgrading the heating, here are changes people sometimes make to increase their house value before selling. Plus, an expert weighs in on whether or not they are worthwhile.
If you’ve been thinking about selling your home, it may be wise to do it sooner rather than later – that’s the message from Alan E Masterton Solicitors and TSPC Estate Agents.
“The market is really buoyant, there’s no doubt about that and there is no way of predicting how the current busy market is set to continue,” says Solicitor Alan Masterton.
“If anybody is considering selling in the next year or so our strong advice would be to get into the market now and enjoy the potentially enhanced returns being achieved by the majority of current sales before the trend switches, as switch it will.
“Due to over 40 years personal and professional experience of buying and selling property in the Tayside marketplace, we know present current price trends cannot continue and this is why we are encouraging customers to sell now.”
How can you increase your house value in Dundee and Tayside?
If you are ready to sell now, you may be considering making improvements to hopefully increase the value of your home. But is it worth it or not?
“The problem’s not knowing where to start but knowing where to stop – people will paint the hall, then it goes to the lounge and the kitchen, and before you know it, you have spent a small fortune on paint and a huge investment in time that you didn’t need.”
Alan explains that many new buyers will redecorate and remodel to their own tastes in the majority of cases.
“It’s striking the happy medium between presenting your house to look its best, and not spending an unnecessary amount of money,” he adds.
So here are four common ways people try to increase their house value before selling – and Alan’s take on whether, generally speaking, it’s worth it or not!
1. Do I need to declutter before putting my house up for sale?
This is without doubt the most significant and worthwhile action you can take and likely the lowest cost option, clutter decreases the feel of space within a home and can pull-in the feel of a room, time spent decluttering will prove without doubt the most beneficial part of your presentation efforts.
2. Should I repaint and freshen up the décor before house viewings start?
This is usually the first of many questions we receive when conducting a valuation before marketing, in essence each property is a case on its own, the broad rule here is if you have chipped/damaged or worn areas of your walls or wood finishings then we would always recommend any such damaged is repaired/redecorated.
3. Should you update heating, windows, and other appliances before selling?
The short answer here is usually a resounding no! the cost of replacing windows will rarely add their value of supply and fitting to a home, nice new windows may be a good selling point but on a cost basis for marketing the expenditure would as we have said previously usually outweigh the benefit. Appliances that are built-in or under if faulty are always best to be replaced prior to marketing as they will likely be warranted in missives at the legal Conveyancing phase of your sale if not excluded, marketing property with faulty built-in appliances is to be avoided and can be off-putting to potential buyers, moveable appliances that are faulty should simply be removed prior to marketing but you should always seek the advice of your TSPC estate agent on these points for your individual home.
Your best bet for finding out how to increase your house value, or if you need to bother doing anything at all, is to find an honest, expert opinion.
Alan says: “We provide a pre-sale advice service whereby we are happy to visit and go over a suggested plan for preparing and marketing of your home without any obligation, an hour spent with us at the outset can often save you many thousands of pounds in unnecessary expenditure and ensure your home is marketed to its best to achieve the best return possible”
What to look for when finding an estate agent in Tayside
Your choice of estate agent is crucial to a satisfying experience and outcome.
As a genuine Family run firm Alan E Masterton is a proud and long-established TSPC member. This is the dominant property platform in Tayside, which has commanded the vast majority of sales sourcing in the area for the past 50 years.
Alan says: “To our view that’s the only platform worth marketing your home in the Tayside and Perth areas, your home is usually the most expensive asset you will deal with in your life so why trust your sale to a minority and often higher cost provider, use the best forget the rest!”.
“Only Solicitor estate agents can advertise in TSPC so sellers should always check that their agent has access to TSPC – all estate agents are not the same!”
He adds: “For a house sale, you need someone who knows your area inside out, who knows your house and can tell you honestly what the current market trend is and what is required to present your house at its best, the honest likely price achievable in today’s market and take you forward one step at a time at your pace.”
Find out more about selling your home with Alan E Masterton Solicitors and Estate Agents in Dundee, Broughty Ferry, Monifieth, Carnoustie or Forfar.
