How to add up to £200,000 to your home’s value in four weeks with a spring clean
Thinking about putting your home on the market? Find out how you can add up to £200,000 to its value in four weeks with a spring clean.
While it may not quite feel like it’s time to put away the winter coats just yet, spring is upon us. Spring is the best time to put a house on the market, with lots of people wanting to be in a new home before the summer, but there are a few things that you can do to get your house ready to sell and increase property value.
Property manager Terry Fisher at We Buy Any Home presents easy spring cleaning jobs that can be completed over a weekend, and could add up to £217,580 to your property value by the end of April.
Weekend one: work on your kerb appeal, add up to £110,280
We’ve all been taught not to judge a book by its cover, but as it only takes a few seconds to make a first impression, giving the front of the property a makeover can add as much as £110,280. Boosting your kerb appeal creates an advert for the property, meaning it can sell much quicker.
Something as simple as cleaning the windows and frames will make the house look much more presentable, and painting the exterior walls a fresh, neutral colour will make the property look clean and inviting, and can add 2% to the value of the property.
A fresh coat of paint on the front in any colour that suits the property can brighten up the space, making it seem more inviting to potential buyers, and recent studies have shown that bright red doors increase your kerb appeal so much that the property could sell for up to 36% more than the national average price.
Don’t forget about your door furniture like the letterbox, doorknob, and number – cleaning or replacing them will complete the job and finish off the makeover.
Weekend two: update kitchen and bathroom, add up to £23,200
Kitchens and bathrooms can often make or break a sale because they’re expensive to replace, so outdated styles can put buyers off. A new kitchen can add around 5% to your property value, and a new bathroom can add about 3% – but as they cost a lot to replace, there are ways to update them without getting a whole new kitchen and bathroom fitted and eating in to how much value you’re adding!
Sanding and painting cabinet doors from old stained wood to a fresh, neutral colour can make the kitchen look brand new, and is much cheaper than replacing all of the cabinets entirely.
Changing old, outdated taps to something sleek and modern will make the bathroom look brand new, even if they old bath and sink is exactly the same.
If the grout is looking a little grimy, brighten it up with a grout pen. White will look clean and fresh, and black will look sleek and modern, particularly with white tiles.
Weekend three: tidy your garden, add up to £58,000
Properties with gardens are always highly desirable, but they’re especially popular in the spring when people with no outdoor spaces can imagine spending the summer outside. Gardens are a big selling point, but they can put buyers off if they’re a mess.
Making your garden not only presentable, but secure, can increase your property value and make it more attractive to buyers. 70% of buyers would pay more for a property with outdoor green space, and a nicely presented, landscaped garden can add 20% to your property value.
Fixing any broken fence panels is an important start, as buyers would look for a garden that is secure, especially if they have children and pets.
If the space is small, using hanging baskets and potted plants is a great way to add colour without taking up much room.
Simple things like mowing the lawn and trimming the edges, and pressure washing patios and decking will make the garden look much more presentable and attractive to potential buyers.
Weekend four: deep clean, add up to £26,100
After the last few weekends of busy work, finish up your spring cleaning with a deep clean. The optimum time for a house to be on the market, to get the best price, is two weeks, and the price you’ll get declines after that time, down to only 91% of asking price after two months.
The phrase ‘Hollywood clean’ has been going viral on Tiktok recently, describing surface-level cleaning and making your home look neat and tidy without really being hygienically clean. While this might attract potential buyers with online photographs, they could be put off when they see things up close at a viewing.
Studies have shown that over 50% of buyers would be put off by a dirty bathroom and kitchen, which can mean it’ll take much longer to sell – so don’t let all your DIY go to waste!
A deep clean of the kitchen and bathroom is the best place to start, but don’t forget simple things like cleaning the windows and windowsills. Deep clean carpets, too, if you have them, or sand and re-stain faded wooden floors to bring them back to life.
A fresh coat of paint in neutral colours to cover scuffed or marked walls gives the impression of a blank canvas to potential buyers, so they can imagine themselves in the home with their own décor.
