By Felix Fortescue, property analyst.
I’m often asked whether a property refurbishment will increase the value of a property and the answer is yes – but a return on the investment is far from guaranteed!
The trouble is that the true value of a property lies chiefly in its potential as perceived by the buyer in the marketplace in terms of the potential of the real estate, rather than whether it has been refurbished or not. The buyer may not care for your property refurbishment anyway and could gut the whole place as soon as you have gone- after all, a building is just a chattel.
So ordinary people, i.e. not professional property developers, should steer well clear of the property refurbishment game unless it is purely to enhance his or her own comfort and amenity at home or work.
The situation with property refurbishments is analogous to the boy racer who installs a 500 stereo in his car and then expects the vehicle to be worth an extra 500 when it simply isn’t.
It was no surprise when recently a friend who works for Hampshire Building firm PM Building Contractors told me that most of their property refurbishment work was chiefly for the high-end customer demographic.
These customers had clearly ordered the property refurbishment work for their own home comfort rather than to enhance the value of their houses.
Although it cannot be said that the gain on the value of a property accrued by a property refurbishment will necessarily be nil, any likely gain will be disproportionate to the expense and that may be incurred.
With the idea that the true value of the property lies in the estate in the land in mind, I would suggest that the ordinary man or woman who was wondering about how to maximise the value of their property should think hard about the potential of their real estate.
Applying for outline planning permission for a whole portfolio of possibilities can make you very attractive for property developers and landlords, some of whom have vast financial resources.
A property refurbishment is merely a cosmetic measure which, while it brings comfort and enjoyment for the householder, is not part of the fundamental nuts and bolts of what your property is worth.
Get a quote for your Hampshire Property Refurbishment – from Hampshire County Council Approved – PM Building Contractors!
