| Give your home an external makeover | | | | vary greatly but a good-sized conservatory kept in |
| By far one of the easiest ways of adding value to | | | | good condition can add anything up to 5% to the value |
| your home is to give it an external makeover. A little | | | | of a house in the UK and will add a similar amount in |
| 'home-staging' goes a long way with even small | | | | France. Because they don't normally require planning |
| inexpensive 'tinkering' making a real difference. From | | | | permission, conservatories are also a hassle-free |
| giving the walls a fresh coat of paint in a neutral colour | | | | alternative to an extension to add an extra room to |
| to tidying up the garden, even buying a new doormat | | | | your property. |
| can make a difference to the value of your home | | | | Convert your loft |
| says Amy Fontinelle, writing for Investopedia. A home | | | | Loft conversions allow you to add an additional room |
| with curb appeal will also sell quicker - research shows | | | | to your house without compromising on outdoor space |
| that just 10% of home buyers can look past a house's | | | | in the way that adding an extension or conservatory |
| appearance to see its potential so first impressions are | | | | would force you to and can add between 10 and 15% |
| very important. | | | | to the value of your home, making it one of the most |
| Update your kitchen | | | | profitable home improvement projects. |
| As one of the most well-used rooms in the average | | | | However home-owners beware; in order for a loft |
| household, any work to renew your kitchen will | | | | conversion to add value to your home it must be a |
| increase the value of your home significantly. Indeed, | | | | usable (i.e. large enough with a real staircase) and |
| according to estate agent George Franks updating | | | | fully-functional (with windows and plug sockets) living |
| your kitchen is the 'single most valuable improvement | | | | space and must meet all relevant fire and building |
| you can make'. Extending your kitchen (either by | | | | regulations. If your loft extension doesn't, the space |
| stealing space from other rooms or by building an | | | | you have reclaimed will not be acknowledged nor |
| extension) will give you more room in which to create | | | | reflected in the value of your property. |
| a kitchen which really stands out and can increase the | | | | Install a swimming pool |
| value of your home enormously, however even small | | | | Another popular way of adding value to your French |
| changes to your kitchen (refreshing the paintwork, | | | | home is to build a swimming pool. |
| changing the cupboard doors, replacing cupboard and | | | | If you live in the north, an indoor, in-ground swimming |
| drawer handles etc) can make a difference. If you do | | | | pools will generally offer the best return with an |
| decide to invest in an entirely new kitchen choose a | | | | outdoor pool all too often proving to be 'an expensive |
| moderately priced good quality kitchen that will last - | | | | white elephant' (adding value to your property but |
| Don't waste your money on a cheap kitchen that will | | | | costing a lot to maintain) whereas if you live in the |
| need replacing almost straight away nor on a very | | | | south of France an outdoor in-ground swimming pool |
| expensive kitchen which is at odds with the rest of | | | | would be better. Above-ground swimming pools, whilst |
| your home. | | | | relatively inexpensive to install and unlikely to require |
| Replace your bathroom suite | | | | planning permission, will probably not make the value of |
| Because updating a bathroom is so disruptive with | | | | your property skyrocket but are equally unlikely to |
| potential buyers loathed to take on such a mammoth | | | | have a negative impact on the value of your property. |
| task just after moving in, a new bathroom suite can | | | | They will however make property easier to sell/let. |
| add anything up to 20% to the price of a house, | | | | Transform a room into a home cinema or gym |
| depending on the materials used (a timeless white suite | | | | Like swimming pools, cinemas and gyms are also |
| will add more value to your property than a Barbie pink | | | | highly desirable and can be deal-clinchers when it |
| one, for example) and the overall aesthetic of the end | | | | comes to choosing one house over another. However |
| result. | | | | those thinking about trying to add value to their home in |
| Adding another bathroom will also increase the value | | | | this way need to think carefully. Not only are home |
| of your home and confer a real advantage when the | | | | cinemas (and to a lesser extent, gyms) vulnerable to |
| time comes to sell your property, additional bathrooms | | | | the risk of obsolescence as new technology becomes |
| being a real boon for family-sized properties. However | | | | out of date in months - especially at the moment as |
| home-owners should beware of creating an extra | | | | audiovisual technology takes its biggest leap forward |
| bathroom at the expense of a bedroom which can | | | | since the switch from black and white to colour picture |
| actually reduce the value of your home. | | | | with the advent of HDTV (high definition television) - |
| Create another bedroom | | | | but in these cash-strapped times buyers may be |
| By far one of the best and most effective ways of | | | | unwilling to pay extra for such features. |
| adding value to your property is to add another | | | | Consider a water feature |
| bedroom. Naturally, the actual value of an extra room | | | | It is a fact that a waterside location adds to the value |
| varies according to the location of the property, how | | | | of a property. Whilst re-routing a river to give your |
| many bedrooms it had before, how many bedrooms | | | | property water frontage and thus increase its value is |
| the neighbours have etc., but of all the ways | | | | not really feasible, the installation of any type of water |
| mentioned in this article for adding value to your French | | | | feature, from a pond to a well-stocked lake with fishing |
| home, adding an extra bedroom offers the best value | | | | rights, is likely to make an appreciable difference to |
| pound for pound (or euro for euro in this case), with | | | | how much your home is worth. |
| the cost of creating an extra room more than covered | | | | Construct outbuildings |
| by the resultant increase in value. | | | | Unlike in the UK where outbuildings tend to be price |
| However adding bedrooms will only increase the value | | | | neutral (having little or no impact of the price of a |
| of the property up to a point. A five-bedroom house in | | | | property), outbuildings in France will affect the price of |
| a street of two-bedroom houses may prove difficult to | | | | your property. Although it is impossible to put a value |
| sell; remember, a house is only worth what someone | | | | on an outbuilding rest assured that even the lowliest |
| will pay for it. | | | | outbuilding will increase the worth of your French |
| Build a conservatory | | | | home, especially if your target market is British buyers |
| Adding a conservatory is an excellent way of | | | | who often seek properties with outbuildings suitable for |
| increasing the value of your French home for a | | | | conversion to gites or in which to set up their own |
| relatively small outlay. Designs, materials and costs | | | | businesses. |