Adding value to your home is a great way of making sure that you will see a larger return on your initial investment of buying a home. Through this guide, there will be information about how you can add value to your home, from a new heating system to updating your bathroom.

Get a new heating system

A new heating system is one of the biggest and best updates you can make to your home, especially if it is a property with an older boiler. An older boiler would be older than 20 years, as these boilers tend to be very inefficient. With an efficiency rating of 75%, you would be losing 25% of all energy the boiler produced. When you compare this to a newer boiler, that often has an efficiency rating of 90%, meaning you will only be missing out on 10% of all energy generated. This can not only save you money in the meantime by increased energy efficiency but will add an increase in property value of up to 5%.

When it comes to installing and choosing a new boiler there are plenty of options for you to choose from. From a range of brands like Ideal and Worcester Bosch to a range of different installers. Make sure you do your research and choose a gas safe engineer for installation once you settle on a boiler brand.

Update your old bathroom

Updating your bathroom is a great way to add some extra value. With most people wanting a modern looking bathroom now, this may be the best way to go with your updates. While you could rip out the whole bathroom suite this would cost a lot of time and money so it would be better to take a few steps to modernise your bathroom.

• Add a new shower, such as a power shower, to give your home’s shower that extra bit of appeal.
• Repainting your bathroom to a more neutral and modern colour, such as a light grey or a white can give it a more open and sleeker feel.
• Updating your tiles, just like with painting the walls, to a more modern colour can also make a huge change to the feel of the room.
• Adding some gadgets in such as a waterproof speaker or a new smart mirror can really add some appeal for people looking for that modern bathroom.

All these updates to your bathroom could add up to 5% to the value of your home. This can increase or decrease based on how you execute these updates.

Add a conservatory

A conservatory is a great way to add more living space while still giving a room that outdoor feeling. There are plenty of options when it comes to conservatories, especially the glass that you can use, so make sure you shop around. You will also want to consider what kind of conservatory you opt for as some may decrease the value of your home, due to looking cheap and out of place on your property.

Planning permission is often not needed however it is best to check with your local building authority beforehand. Adding a conservatory can increase the value of your home by up to 10%!

Update your garden

Gardens often go unthought-of when you talk about increasing the value of your home, but you can create some real value in a good garden space. The most important feature of a garden is privacy, no one wants to have people looking in on them when they are trying to relax or entertain friends in the summer. If this is an issue, you can always increase the height of your fences. Planning permission may be needed above a certain height so check with your local building authority.

When it comes to updating the actual features of your garden adding a patio area where you can have guests sit in the summer and you can BBQ is a great addition. If you can also add a summer house or agarden office space these are great addition as it acts as an extra room in your garden. Just like with fences planning permission may be necessary so make sure you check before construction begins. Overall, an updated garden could add as much as 10% value!

Update your interior

A home’s interior is what will catch the eyes of anyone that comes into your home. So, making sure that it is up to date and eye catching, in a good way, will increase the value of your home.

• Updating your colour schemes to more neutral colours will mean that your home is not tied down to current trends, so when it comes time to sell there are no issues with colour.
• Adding some more storage space to rooms means there is less clutter around the home and people have more space to store their belongings, which appeals to a modern buyer.
• Updating the decor through your home, like lampshades and mirrors, can mean your home will appeal more to the modern buyer. Going with lampshades that compliment your chosen wall colour can also really help.

Overall, when it comes to updating the interior of your home, you will want to be looking at modernising. Try to keep things as simple as possible to not attach to any trends that may be over by the time you sell your home.

Following this guide will give you some ideas of how you can increase the value of your home, either ready for sale or just to give your home that wow factor.