by Catherine Lear

Created on: November 26, 2009   Last Updated: December 01, 2009

It is nice add value to any home that we buy either to live in or when we buy to sell to make a nice profit. I buy houses and apartments for a living; my business is one that buys houses to either rent or to sell on for a profit. There are many things that you can do to a property to make it look nice, but sometimes you can spend far too much money on many things that will not put to much value on your home.

When I buy a house, the first thing that I do is to look at two things, I first look at the kitchen area, the second thing I do is too look at the bathroom area. The rest of the house comes a poor third unless it needs a lot of renovation work.

The reason that I look at the kitchen first is that the kitchen area is the one place that any woman makes for when they come to look at any house that she is going to live in, the reason being is the kitchen is usually the woman's domain, being a woman I understand this, its where I and many other women love to spend there time cooking for there loved ones. I don't use an estate agent to sell my homes I usually sell them myself, I buy them at the price I want and I sell them for the price I want, I can tell you quite categorically that when I show any woman the kitchen that I have put in, the wow factor kicks in, I then show her the bathroom and again the wow factor kicks in, many is the time that my better half says the rest of the house can be falling down but they do like the kitchen and the bathroom don't they.

And that's the secret that will put value on any home, a brand new kitchen and new bathroom. The kitchen must be tastefully fitted with modern kitchen units, along with new kitchen utensils as well as new cookers and freezers and refrigerators tastefully hidden, along with new taps. Along with new tiles on the wall and new floor tiles, and new blinds for any windows.

I spend at least 3,000 British pounds on a new kitchen for any new house that I buy, this 3,000 British Pounds turns into at least 10,000 British pounds when I come to sell the house.

Next is the bathroom I rip out every single part of the old bathroom, all the tiles go along with any old flooring, I put I a more modern bathroom suit and into days modern world it must be white, I re tile all the walls along with tiles on the floor, I put in new spotlights in the ceiling, along with a small extract fan over either the bath or the shower. I spend again at least 3,000 British Pounds this includes the cost of refitting. Again I can expect to get at least 10,000 more for my effort. That's a good 14,000 profit on those two rooms alone not a bad return by any means.

There are one or two more things that I am now starting to do, but they must be cost effective at all times, I must make a profit on anything that I do in any of my homes, I put in new windows, they will make a small profit, If I buy a home with a drive way I have now began to put in a new drive way with brick blocks, this too will make me a small profit.

There are things that I won't do, building a conservatory is counter productive, it looks nice, but I would be lucky to get back the price of the labour. Landscaping the back garden or the front garden is a no, no, again it looks nice and may be a good selling point but the cost is way too expensive. You can do things to your home that won't bring any monitory value, and after all that's what you need to buy your next home.

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