Tips - 10 ways to add value without the hassle of planning permission.
February 7, 2007 by kotoman
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Ok so it only took us 12 weeks to get the permission we needed to start our project, but the whole process cost us £800 and wasn’t guaranteed. Here are 10 ways you can change your house without the hassle of dealing with the planning office. And it could add value to your house.
1. Reconfiguring the inside by adding stud walls or knocking exiting wall down the open up living space. Always get a structural engineer to help determine if the wall is load bearing, but a session with the sledge hammer could add up to 10% to the houses value
2. Loft conversions can add extra space for bedrooms, studies or playrooms. Get the Estate agent in to make sure that spending the £20 is worth it. There are rumours that loft conversions may not need planning permission in the future. Adding a new room adds 5-15% on your house
3. ‘Rooms in the garden’. check, but creating an outbuilding in the garden for an office or den can add up to 10% to the your house value. Again check with the planning office before starting your project.
4. Single storey extension. Adding to the foot print and keeping below the 50m3 for a terraced house or 70m3 for other dwellings can make a huge difference. other limits are it shouldn’t exceed 4m high and must be within 2m of the boundary. Added value, 10%
5. Exterior renovations. Lick of paint, cutting back that crazy bush in the front and repairing paths etc can all add to the value. how much? 5%
6. Home office. If you have the space make one of your bedrooms into an office. Added value? 2.5% 7. More light more money. Everyone loves natural light so replacing those small old windows will add around 10%.
8. Pools add value. Must be within 50% of the over all garden area and ideally added in an out building, but ’splashing out’ can add 10%
9. Conservatories add extra space and extra value. Getting it right can add 10% to your house value.
10. And finally, Garages are a great selling point. They are also great for the car insurance. As long as the height doesn’t exceed 4m pitched roof or 3m flat and isn’t closer to road compared with the house then permission isn’t needed. This will add a whopping 20% to the value and if you add additional off street parking it could add £10k per space.
Tips
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