Making improvements to our homes has great appeal for many of us. As well as improving our own living situations we may hope to increase the value of our property, but does it really work?
The world of home improvements seems to be everywhere these days. Turn on the television and you're likely to be presented with a show about decorating, building a house from scratch, moving home or some other issue related to the property market.
Property is big business and there's definitely money to be made for those of us who know what we're doing. The problem is that many of us don't really know where to start. We need a pointer - which home improvements will add the greatest value to our homes?
Let's start with one luxury home improvement that may have surprising results: a swimming pool. Plenty of us may dream of coming home from work and relaxing in a pool. Indeed, it sounds idyllic. So it must increase the value of a property, right? Well no, not necessarily.
The actual impact that building a swimming pool will have on the value of your property will vary depending upon the location of your property and its circumstances. The key here is to think about potential buyers and what they might like.
If you're attempting to sell your property as a great new home for a family then building a pool could turn out to be a bad move. Many parents would worry about the dangers of having a swimming pool in the same house as their small children.
They may even offer you a lower price for your home, reflecting the fact that they will have to bear the cost of having to pay to get your pool filled in. An excellent example of where a home improvement might not have the desired effect.
The important issue here is deciding who your target market is and what they are likely to want. We'll have a look at a more positive example.
If you have a nice 3-bedroom home in a suburb, with a garden, then that may well be the type of property that could be very desirable to a couple with children. It might be a great location for the couple in commuting terms, while the garden could provide a great play area for the kids.
So how should you go about improving the property to increase its value? One obvious area that you could improve would be the garden. Kids generally like lots of space to play in - they're not likely to be bothered by flower beds and the like.
You should get the garden into child-friendly shape. Make it look and feel like a great play area for the family's children.
You'll be amazed by how such relatively small improvements can add greatly to the value of your home.