These tips could add more value to your home. Photo / Getty Images
These tips could add more value to your home. Photo / Getty Images
Adding value to a home is the priority of any renovator or home flipper - it's top of mind for most homeowners today.
So how do we increase the value of our homes without breaking the bank? Shannon and Simon Vos, winners of The Block Australia 2014, explainhow.
1. Paint
Make sure to pick the right colour palette. Photo / Getty Images
A fresh lick of paint can transform your home like nothing else can. Dated colours and tones are like kryptonite to perspective buyers or renters, and the cheapest and most DIY friendly option to increase any home's value is a new coat of paint inside and out.
The average three-bedroom home should cost around $8000 for a professional paint job (inside and out), but for the extreme budget conscious it can be an easy DIY warrior option.
The value added from a paint makeover however could net a return of tens of thousands of dollars, and with most paint companies offering colour consultation to ensure you get the colour scheme right, it's a no brainer in the 'reno' world.
2. Render
Dated brick homes can look colder than a Hobart winter, and the quickest way to update those 60s bricks is with a coat of cement or acrylic render.
Average render costs for a single level home run around the $40 - $50 per square meter mark, and the return for this can be up to ten times the original investment.
A rendered look can easily be applied to a cladded home as well, it's simply a matter of removing the existing cladding, applying a 'blue-board' base and an acrylic render is then trowelled on the board. It's an easy solution to a common and dated problem.
3. Update the front
The entrance to your home can really impress potential buyers. Photo / Getty Images
First impressions last, and an update to the front or the entrance of your home can lead to a huge spike in your home's value.
It may be a simple paint or cladding upgrade, or even a landscape overhaul, but having a stunning frontage to your home is sure to impress any potential buyers.
4. Add a bedroom
Adding a bedroom can really up the value of your home. Photo / 123RF
The price difference between the average two bedder and three bedder is usually somewhere between $200,000 and $400,000. Simply a huge jump.
Considering the run of the mill cost to build an additional bedroom is between $50,000 to $80,000, even the most dimwitted of renovators can see this as a sure bet.
5. Improve the landscaping
A little landscaping can go a long way. Photo / 123RF
The best room in the house isn't inside the house and any homeowner's dream is to have a great backyard and an impressive front. But more often than not it's the landscaping that gets left behind in the renovating game.
Good landscaping, front and back, is a very important factor in a home's value. For the front, it's all about framing the home's facade and making a great (but maintainable) first impression. For the back it's all about space. Create the space for adults and kidlets to run around freely, while keeping a sleek and lush foliage design.
It may be a simple matter of new turf throughout, the re-imagining of entire gardens or simply relocating the iconic 'Hills hoist', whatever the improvement it's sure to add plenty of value to your home.
