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Phil Spencer at the Ideal Home Show

Phil Spencer will be at the Ideal Home Show on April 3rd at 2pm. To find out more and buy tickets, visit their website.

Adding Value to Your Home

Adding Value to Your Home – the first book from property guru Phil Spencer

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Back in 1996, I was one of the first property professionals to specialise in looking after the interests of purchasers. My home search and buying advisory business remains dedicated to providing the very best service and advice to clients looking to acquire homes or investments across the UK.

The services provided are tailored to the requirements of each individual client. My philosophy, gained from so many years in the business, is that no two clients are the same and should therefore not be treated as such. The common theme is that clients will be looked after in the most professional and ethical way possible.

Clients tend to be those who are looking to buy in an unfamiliar area, those who are unsure of local market conditions, who don’t have time to conduct a search themselves or who are looking for those off market opportunities that only a buyers agent can unearth.

Fees for purchase search and acquisition consist of an initial retaining fee followed by a success fee payable on completion of the purchase. The retaining fee is deducted from any final success fee. Indications on fees can be provided after an initial discussion of requirements.

I have close relationships with many top flight buying agents and am always happy to recommend or introduce people who have local knowledge and experience in different parts of the country.

—Phil

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Room by room improvements

I always think you need to be in the right frame of mind with plenty of patience and, ideally, a reasonable amount of time to be good at DIY. Having the right tools is crucial. I sometimes joke that you need a grand’s worth of tools before you can save 20 quid, but there is some truth in this. There is nothing more irritating than starting a job only to discover you have the wrong-sized screwdriver or need more drill bits. I spent ages putting up a shelf recently, and halfway through the job found out I didn’t have a spirit level. Any hope of getting the shelf straight evaporated quite quickly without this relatively inexpensive but vital tool.

However, DIY can be fulfilling and satisfying. It is wise to do one job at a time and finish it off properly, or your partner will threaten to leave you. The old adage that it is easier to take something apart than put it back together again certainly applies here. It will be unsafe and disruptive if you start tearing up parts of your house, leaving them in chaos for ages before you get round to completing any one task.

If you are determined to drag out your tool kit and get stuck in, some projects give a good return on your money – with some profit on top when you decide to sell.

  • Central heating – New central heating that has been fitted correctly always pays for itself. You will need to spend about £1,000 to £3,000 but could stand to add £5,000 to the value.
  • Double-glazing – Installing double-glazing can be of huge benefit in keeping heat in and noise out. It doesn’t cost a great deal – anything from a few hundred pounds to a few thousand depending on the size of your house and how many windows you want glazed for the return benefits you will receive. I believe this definitely adds value to your home, probably £10,000 or more, as long as it isn’t done too cheaply. Pay for the best double-glazing you can afford.
  • Bathrooms – Unless you are a Seventies aficionado, ripping out that avocado suite and wildly colourful tiles might be advisable. I think you might nearly double your money if you splash out on quality tiles, clever lighting and cabinets with big mirrors to make a small bathroom appear bigger. This is a job most people do not want to do themselves, so find it a relief to see the work has already been done. The cost is from £2,000 to £20,000, adding as much as £25,000 or more to the value for a top-end bathroom. At the other end of the scale, even spending a small amount updating a bathroom – from £500 upwards – can add at least 3 per cent to the value of your home, according to mortgage lender GE Money.
  • Kitchens – Branded kitchens go in and out of fashion, so be careful what you choose. Remember those homely units with wheat sheaves that went down so well 30 or so years ago? You do not want buyers snickering at your style errors, so select timeless units that will not date. The kitchen really is the heart of the home people spend the bulk of their time here – so do not stint on appliances and worktops. Perhaps spending a bit more on tiles or a good fridge/freezer will pay off in the end. Depending how far you go, you can shell out £3,000 to £30,000 (although some topend kitchens cost double that amount), but you are likely to add anything from £2,000 to £40,000 to the value of your home. A lot depends on the quality of the units and materials you install, but I would reckon a good mid-range kitchen, with good tiling, a nice worktop and smart appliances, would cost about £10,000 to £20,000 and you are likely to add £25,000 to £30,000 to the value of your home. And although you can’t always put a definite sum on it, a good kitchen does help sell a house faster. Getting the layout right is crucial, so concentrate on getting the appliances in the right place – you don’t want to walk miles between the fridge and the cooker, for instance – and properly planned storage space.
  • Extensions and loft conversions – Converting the loft does not come cheap – estimate £20,000 to £40,000; nor do extensions, typically costing between £10,000 and £30,000. Yet experts think a well-executed loft conversion or extension can net you around 25 per cent of the cost of the project in profit. If you spent £20,000, for instance, you could be adding about £5,000 (a quarter of what you spent) onto the value of your home. As most people move to get more space, I reckon you will recoup your money and then some.
  • Conservatories – A lot depends on what kind of conservatory you plump for and how well it is integrated with the house and garden. There is nothing worse than a cheap-looking conservatory plopped on to the back of a house. However, a good conservatory that seamlessly blends in and offers extra usable space to the ground floor will add value. Expect to get your money back at least for a decent conservatory costing £5,000 to £30,000. And for topof-the-line conservatories, you might get 10 to 20 per cent more value.
  • Redecorating – Simply getting out a paintbrush to spruce up the paintwork is thought to add most value to a home, according to a recent study. Offering you the highest return on outlay, a thorough redecoration job could add up to £5,000 in value for an investment of only £100 to £1,000. A botched paint job will not do your house any favours, however, so if you worry about your prowess with a roller this would be a good time to call in a professional.

—Phil

About Phil

Phil Spencer is one of the best-known faces on British television, co-presenting the hit Channel 4 series Location, Location, Location and Relocation, Relocation. Phil has written regular columns in The Sunday Times and Country Life, and is contracted to Archant publishing to write columns that are syndicated in the group’s numerous local glossy magazines, which are distributed nationwide. Recent TV appearances include The One Show, Children in Need and The Friday Night Project, and Phil regularly appears on the radio to discuss property issues. He also hosts a hugely popular Classic FM radio show, broadcast at 3pm on Sunday afternoons.


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