Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa Real Estate Investor Magazine - August 2017 | Page 23

RENOVATION Fast Property Makeover and Fixer Upper tips How to increase the value for selling and renting BY NEALE PETERSEN D oing any improvements on your house or investment properties is a sound financial investment, provided you don’t over capitalize. The best way to do this is to use a good contractor. When times are tough, though, there are other ways to improve the perceived value of your property. One way to immediately add value without spending money when either selling or renting a property is to: • Change light bulbs to brighter lighting • Declutter and remove furniture items – the less the better • Paint touch ups on walls and ceilings • Move beds around • Rearrange shelves to look neater and show storage space • Remove carpets • Add photographs • Mow the lawn and clean the front of the house www.reimag.co.za • • • • Consider home‒staging if selling Do any basic repairs Add a carport for an extra car Bring in plants With a very tight economy, property owners are spending more on looking after the smaller things on their properties especially if they want to sell or rent it out. In general, it’s been found that we prefer holding off on major projects for better times. When it comes to larger projects, such as solar panels, the retiling of bathrooms and kitchens, painting rooms, replacing plumbing, and adding new electrical fittings, first draw up a list of “must haves”. Be sure to include your budget in this list ‒ and stick to it. While these big-ticket items can do wonders for the value of your home, small updates and changes must not be underestimated. AUGUST 2017 SA Real Estate Investor 21