Add Home Value By Going Green - Insulation, Green houses and Water Butts
Housing-Market / UK Housing Jun 03, 2014 - 02:07 PM GMTBy: Nadeem_Walayat
Percentage added to home value of 200% to 300% of typical costs incurred. Typically £700 spent can convert into as much as a £2k increase in value.
At relatively little cost home owners can boost their green credentials to not only increase the value of their homes by making their homes more appealing to increasingly environmentally conscious prospective home buyers but also save money on an ongoing basis.
Whilst a near infinite number of measures can be adopted, however I highlight three DIY projects that most home owners can undertake with relative ease.
INSULATION
Even novice home buyers viewing properties can spot poorly insulated roof voids and therefore have an unnecessarily negative impression that could prevent a offer long before of what would be mentioned in a surveyors report. However, this can easily be dealt with by home owners inspecting the quality of ones insulation of key areas such as loft spaces and central heating pipes that once dealt with will not only increase the value of your home but also save you money on energy costs.
See the section on winter weatherproofing for more on insulating your property.
WATER BUTTS
Water butts are relatively cheap and easy to install that both save money and add green appeal to your property.
However ensure that they are positioned in a suitable out of the way area and are a proper fit for the space and do not for instance interfere with the view out of windows or block a passageway, in which respect always measure the area and look for several alternative options before buying, for instance connect several slim-line water butts in series rather than having one large awkward fitting water butt in place.
GREEN HOUSE
If you are upto the task then installing a green house can also boost your house value a little whilst also making you partially self reliant in vegetables for at least the summer months.
Whilst many prospective home buyers with children may be put off by glass green houses, however a modern alternative solution which is actually cheaper than glass structures are the aluminium polycarbonate greenhouses which are completely child friendly.
Aluminum poly carbonate greenhouse kits can be bought for as little as £150 for the minimum size of 6 foot by 4 foot green houses. Though if you are going to take the time to erect a green house then it is best to go for the largest size that would fit a given space, rather than to later regret buying a too small greenhouse, therefore it is best to aim for a 6by6 or 8by6 foot green house rather than the minimum 6by4 foot.
One thing to note that most of the competitively priced aluminum green houses on the market tend to be just under 5 feet at the eaves, rising to 6 foot at the apex, which is at least 6 inches short for most peoples use, therefore after the floor area has been dug out it would be wise to raise the height of the base by either using wooden beams, breeze blocks or better still to build a dwarf brick wall of 3 or 4 courses high to attach the green house base can be attached.
Laying a DIY a dwarf wall will not necessarily add much to the cost to the green house i.e. bricks, mortar, concrete and some brick laying tools should not cost more than about £100 - £150.
After the base is in place then the green house should be erected all in one go on a non windy day by following the instructions and slotting the polycarbonate panels as your go.
The next steps are to firmly attach the base to the dwarf wall by mortaring and concreting it in, and then to lay the inside flooring be it concrete or mortared in paving slabs.
The final step is literally to add a step.
Whilst a well built and maintained green house will add value to your home , however do not expect much more than about twice the total cost of the build i.e. a £400 total build will likely add no more than about £800. However a green house in a state of disrepair will likely result in loss of value in which case it is probably best it is removed.
For 15 home improvements that will add value to your home and 5 to avoid that won't see the New UK Housing Market Ebook available for FREE DOWNLOAD (Only requirement is a valid email address).
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1. U.S. Housing Market Analysis and Trend Forecast 2013-2016 - 27 pages
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2. U.K. Housing Market Analysis and House Prices Forecast 2014-2018 - 107 pages
The second part comprises the bulk of analysis that concludes in several detailed trend forecasts including that for UK house prices from 2014 to 2018 and their implications for the outcome of the next General Election (May 2015) as well as the Scottish Referendum.
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- What Can You Afford to Buy?
- Home Buyers Guide
- Home Sellers Guide
- Top 15 Value Increasing Home Improvements
- Home Improvements to Avoid
- Home Winter Weather Proofing 22 Point Survey
These guides will further be supplemented from Mid 2014 onwards by a series of online videos and regularly updated calculators such as the Home Buying Profit and Loss Calculator, which will seek to give calculations on whether to buy or rent based on personal individual circumstances, that will be updated to include the latest expected trend trajectories for future house price inflation i.e. you will have your own personal house price forecast.
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By Nadeem Walayat
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Nadeem Walayat has over 25 years experience of trading derivatives, portfolio management and analysing the financial markets, including one of few who both anticipated and Beat the 1987 Crash. Nadeem's forward looking analysis focuses on UK inflation, economy, interest rates and housing market. He is the author of five ebook's in the The Inflation Mega-Trend and Stocks Stealth Bull Market series that can be downloaded for Free.
Nadeem is the Editor of The Market Oracle, a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication that presents in-depth analysis from over 1000 experienced analysts on a range of views of the probable direction of the financial markets, thus enabling our readers to arrive at an informed opinion on future market direction. http://www.marketoracle.co.uk
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