Investing in property improvements can be a waste of money if home owners choose the wrong project.
Whether a home is a buy to let or an expat’s own property makes no difference – picking the right upgrade can add thousands to the value of a property, while choosing wrong can end in financial disaster.
Going green is one of the worst investments – spending £5,000 on solar panels can lead to a massive £9,512 loss, according to a new property investment calculator posted online for free by financial web site GoCompare.
Research by the web site revealed that one in four home improvements are carried out to add value to a home.
The most popular are redecorating (53%), fitting a kitchen (42%) or bathroom (36%), changing the flooring (38%) and a garden make-over (36%).
Digging in for a profit
But out of these, only improving the garden added any value to the house price.
Ben Wilson, GoCompare’s home insurance spokesman said, “Our new calculator gives homeowners an understanding of the typical costs and benefits of undertaking a range of projects, before they start the work, allowing them to see the potential financial benefits.
“Our calculator provides indicative valuations and estimates based on national data. Therefore, depending on local housing market and labour conditions, the extent of the work undertaken, and materials used, figures for individual projects will differ and we always recommend people shop around to get quotes for work as well.”
The profit and loss figures were calculated by taking thousands of real-life transactions and comparing the costs against the value of a home valued at the national average price in January 2018 of £221,620.
Home values and property projects
| Average cost | Estimated property value increase | Estimated profit or loss | |
| New boiler | £1,995.00 | £9,024.84 (4%) | £7,029.84 |
| Fit central heating | £4,250.00 | £9,024.84 (4%) | £4,774.84 |
| Garden make-over | £1,500.00 | £2,256.21 (1%) | £756.21 |
| Knock through rooms | £1,750.00 | £4,512.42 (2%) | £2,762.42 |
| Fit double glazing | £8,450.00 | £9,024.84 (4%) | £574.84 |
| Paint and decorate | £2,500.00 | £2,256.21 (1%) | -£243.79 |
| New flooring | £2,200.00 | £0.00 (0%) | -£2,200.00 |
| New bathroom | £4,250.00 | £2,256.21 (1%) | -£1,993.79 |
| Fit new kitchen | £7,000.00 | £4,512.42 (2%) | -£2,487.58 |
| Fit solar panels | £5,000.00 | £-4,512.42 (-2%) | -£9,512.42 |
Source: GoCompare
