The property market can be a fickle thing, as evidenced by recent falls to property values. Despite the overall upward trend with regard to house prices, short-term volatility can wick away some of what you might expect to get for your house.
If you’re thinking of selling up soon, this might be at the forefront of your mind. What can you do to counteract that fall in property value? Any investment in renovation can be a good thing, but there are some less-obvious ways to add value – including in the bathroom…
Updated Flooring
Changing the floor in your bathroom is a strong and effective way to add value – particularly if you invest well in the right materials. A linoleum floor will serve for aesthetic purposes, but not add any monetary value; high-quality tiling, or even stone flags, can add aesthetics, longevity and value altogether. You could always look at the latest backsplash tile trends and add some modern bathroom tiles to improve the walls and look of the whole room.
New Lighting
It is important to remember that value can be imparted in two ways when it comes to selling a house. On the one hand, changes you make could add monetary value, raising the market value and allowing you to set a higher asking price. On the other, certain additions or renovations can simply make a property more appealing at first glance – expediting the viewings process and improving the likelihood of a swift, frictionless sale.
With this in mind, a new set of light fixtures might not add altogether much in terms of monetary value (unless the wiring needs fundamentally replacing), but can be an extremely valuable undertaking. Your bathroom benefits both from the sheen of new fixtures, and the favourable way those fixtures might light up the space.
New Hardware
Renovating a bathroom can be a complicated affair, particularly when taking into account the plumbing of your toilet and sink. While a big re-fit might be beyond your budget, there are ways of refreshing the feel of your bathroom installations without having to hire a professional plumber.
Replacing the hardware – that is, the faucets, handles and other such accessories – can be done with practically no prior DIY experience. A saunter around your nearest bathroom showroom can give you some inspiration for styles if you’re feeling a little stuck for ideas; once you’ve acquired your fixtures of choice, you’ll need 20 minutes of time, some simple hand tools and maybe a YouTube tutorial. The result will be fresh new fittings that are certain to entice buyers.
Storage Space
Storage space is always at a premium, no matter how spacious a home is. As such, storage will be something that potential buyers keep an eagle eye out for during viewings, and could well be the difference between a long time on the market and a swift sale – not to mention between an average and above-average market value.
While other areas of the house are arguably more important to build storage into, the bathroom should not be ignored. Creating cabinet space for toiletries is a necessity, while additional utility space for stock of things like toilet paper and cleaning products can be a nice extra touch.
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