Renovation ideas that won’t break the bank

One of the most important things about investing in repossessions are the renovations you do to the property once it’s yours. We recommend to read our guide on renovating repossessed properties, to learn how you can optimise every property investment you make, whether it’s been repossessed or not. However, if you haven’t got the time, here’s some quick ideas that can boost the properties value at a budget.

Checking planning permission before you buy:

Extensions and renovations can be both expensive and disruptive. Before you bid on a property, look for planning permission in the locality. Some repossessions are covenant, meaning they have an agreement in place that makes it difficult to make any renovations or extensions.

Make sure the loft is properly insulated:

Considering the small cost and high reward, loft insulation should be essential for any property investment you make

Although you may assume that the vast majority of homes in the UK have this, many don’t have proper depths of insulation, and some have unfilled cavity walls. The chances may be higher for a repossessed house if it’s not been looked after by its previous tenant, so it’s beneficial to get this done if the property isn’t properly insulated.

You can prevent up to 25% of heat from escaping from the roof of your roof with proper insulation. This is one of the best refurbishments you can do for under £500, which will be reimbursed through savings on heating for whoever resides in the property.

Try and improve kerb appeal:  

Many distressed properties will be kept in good condition, however if it’s apparent in any way that the house was ever repossessed, or it just looks dated, work will need to be done to mimise or take this look away. This type of work, again, does not necessarily require a high budget. You can do this through simple steps such as painting the front door, cleaning windows,  building an entrance gate (if there’s room), and growing plants around the properties entrance.

Simple additions such as a healthy flower bed can really improve first appearances

Of course the more budget you allocate to this, the more you will improve the appearance of the repossessed house, yet this is something you can really enhance that requires almost no money at all. You can’t underestimate how much people care about appearance, so even a neat gardening job to the front of the property can really change a future buyers first opinion upon viewing the house.

Improve Lighting and enhance the properties space:

A dimly lit property can really influence an individuals overall feel for it, therefore you should be pro-active in maximising the light in any way you can. If it means buying new bulbs then so be it – you can also paint the walls a lighter colour or add mirrors to improve light exposure.

In addition, more space usually means more value for a property, so be aware that there may be factors to the lay-out that restrict the space of the house. Look at the property from a blank slate and try and calculate if objects are laid out in ways that maximise the space of each room. Removing any of this clutter, such as furniture that takes up too much room should also naturally improve the lighting of the repossession.

Any property will look less appealing if it appears dark or drab, so try and give each room as much life as possible through utilising the sources of light

Conclusion:

To add tends of thousands to the value of a repossessed property will require spending money, however improvements can be made to the asking price by making simple adjustments that don’t need more then a few hundred pounds.

When you are considering bidding on a repossessed house for sale, think of your long-term goal – for example if you wish to sell the property immediately after buying, you should focus on loft conversions or extending rooms, but if you plan on letting it out long-term, then you need to look at the space and lighting, as well as kurb appeal, to attract short-term residents.

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