Property valuation can be quite tricky. As much as a large portion of real estate properties tends to appreciate over time, there is also a small percentage with depreciates over time due to certain factors.
In this article, we are going to look at some practical ways to increase the value of any property. Since you cannot change the design or structure of the house once it is built, these methods that we will go into require no major structural changes to your building.
If you are a real estate investors who buy old properties and refurbishes them or an average professional who owns the property, these methods of increasing your property valuation will be of benefit to you.
Upgrade Your Fixtures
The first thing you can do is to upgrade the fixtures within your property. You can start by changing all external wooden doors to steel security doors. This convenience and security to your property and also, effectively, prevents creeping animals and mosquitoes from passing through the sides of the door. The garage door can also be upgraded for more security and ease of use.
Apart from the doors, you can also upgrade the windows, sanitary ware, lights, and other fixtures that add that value and function to the property.
Upgrade Your Kitchen and Bathroom
There is a saying that the kitchen and bathroom are what sell a house. There are lots of reasons to back on this and it is something that most real estate developers and homeowners agree on. Why are kitchens and bathrooms so important? The answer depends on who you ask. However, there is no doubt that the kitchen and bathroom are two very important areas in any home.
To increase the value of the kitchen, you can fit it with aesthetic cabinets and add an extractor on top of the stove, ensure good ventilation and if the kitchen is big enough, you could an island with seats or break down parts of the kitchen wall to give it an open kitchen where possible.
Adding a bathtub could also increase the value as they are not common in this part of the world. The showers should be excellent and very effective when it comes to taking a shower.
Expand the Living Spaces
Generally, the more living spaces you create, the higher your property’s valuation. The living spaces do not have to be bedrooms only. You can create extra living spaces through patios, sheds, gardens, playgrounds, etc.
These are extra spaces that occupants that can spend time reading in, admiring nature, playing, or eating in. Activities that bind a family together normally happen in these added spaces, so having these types of spaces could raise the value of your home greatly.
Improve the Landscaping
The land around the building also adds lots of value to your property. Instead of leaving it bare, you can create a beautiful landscape with gardens and patios and carefully mowed lawns.
Have a professional landscaping company do your landscaping to increase the value of your house. It would surprise you the value that landscaping can add to your property. Make good use of the land that your property sits on to increase its value.
Use Smart Technology
The internet of things is quickly becoming a trend in the most luxurious homes. You can find homes with smart lighting, smart fridges, hidden TVs available upon voice command, smart security systems. The value of your house can definitely increase once smart technology is integrated into your home.
Adopt Sustainable Technology
Sustainable technology like building green, using a biogas tank instead of a septic tank, adding solar panels, digging boreholes with treatment plants to treat water, designing the rooms to be energy efficient that would not require air conditioning, etc.
Just a small percentage of homes in Rwanda are built with sustainable technology in mind so having such sustainable technology integrated into your home would easily raise its value.
Not all these methods of raising the value of a building are cheap but they are worth it if you have a long-term plan for your real estate investment. All these methods have the potentials to increase the value of your property 10-50 approximately.
