Why are loft conversions on the up?

If your New Year’s resolution doesn’t fall under the umbrella of fitness, travel and self-betterment but instead falls under home renovation, then you could be on your way to increasing your property’s value by a hefty amount.

Extending your home or adding a loft conversion can add more than £42,000 to the value of an average property, while an extra bathroom could boost its worth by nearly £10,000, a report has found.

The UK is home to some of the smallest homes in Europe, practically every household struggles with storage or living space. Whilst the prices of solicitor fees and property costs continue to rise, what better way to tackle these issues by converting your upper abode into an elegant retreat? The benefits are great and will significantly increase the value of your home, whilst also allowing more light to enter and improve your views.

Adding Value to Your Home

I’m sure you were intrigued by the aforementioned benefit of adding value to your property, so let’s run through the reasons why. 

Loft conversions are undoubtedly the best way to add value to your home. Basement conversions – though great – are rarely easy to design and build, considering your house needs to have the right architectural backdrop amongst many other things.

The BSWA (British Structural Waterproofing Association) and the British Cement Association do not recommend building basement conversions where the water table is too high, which then raises landscape concerns and on top of all that you may find many architects won’t even want to tackle the project due to impending lawsuits if the ground falls through! 

Robert Gardner, the chief economist at Nationwide, stated that home buyers were prepared to pay more for extra usable space, as this was often associated with better quality accommodation:

“Home improvements that increase floor area, such as an extension or loft conversion, remain a good way to add value. Ultimately, of course, the decision to invest in the home is an individual one, taking into account the costs and hassle involved, as well as potential benefits.”

Experts claim that a conversion that is designed correctly can increase the value of your property by an average of £20,000 – meaning that the average loft conversation has an ROI of roughly 200%. Similarly, home conversion specialists DMB Solutions declared that building a loft conversion ‘is the easiest, most cost-effective way to add space and value to your home.’

In short, no other home improvement concept comes close. Extensions add an average of £16,000 to a property and cost considerably more to complete and If you live in a built-up area, this might not even be possible in the first place.

No Need to Move!

More often than not, the usual way to increase your number of bedrooms of you house size, is to move. One of the major and obvious benefits of loft conversion is that you can stay in the home you know and love.

This means that you do not have the stress of finding a new home, modifying your daily commute, searching for new schools, re-routing your post, pay for removal companies and everything else that comes with moving home.

Stamp duty often equals the cost of an entire loft conversion, so you achieve significant savings taking this option as opposed to moving house.

Increase Space

Another obvious benefit but one opens many creative and diverse opportunities to further improve your house.

A well-planned loft conversion/extension will improve storage space and maybe even provide quirky and intelligent solutions such as storage underneath your new stairs (this is just one of the many creative options that lie at your feet). Also, I’m sure our garages, hallways, studies and even bedrooms have all needed a good clear-out at some point, another great reason to convert!

Increase Daylight

Velux windows and even dormers let in more light due to the fact they’re less likely to be blocked by surrounding houses, trees and other things that usually stop your windows for allowing light into your home. Your loft conversion will enjoy longer hours of daylight due to their height, positioning and angles.

Improve the Views

Loft conversions obviously situate you higher up, therefore more sun, more light and better aesthetics. Many homeowners are so used to looking at their neighbourhood from street level, that they are pleasantly surprised at how beautiful the view is from higher up. It’s also an easier way to see the sunset! (Providing your window faces west).

The benefits of loft conversions are almost endless. Not forgetting that the conversion will cost you a fraction of the price if you were to move home and outward extension often come with space complications and digging down can be very costly! This is without a doubt the most appealing idea for homeowners who want to extend their property without any of the messy groundwork.