Five ways of adding value to a property including new driveways; garages, loft and basement conversions and new or replacement bathrooms plus repairs and redecorating. Higher investment and low cost ways to increase your property’s worth Increasing a property’s value can be more difficult than it first appears – some changes that might add value can in themselves be expensive in the first place while other ‘cheap as chips’ measures can make a huge difference. In general, it’s deciding whether you wish to make your home more saleable prior to putting it on the market, or simply wish to improve it for your own benefit but hope to add value along the way. So what can add value to a property? 1. New driveway More people like to have some hard standing for cars rather than parking on the roadside or on grass, and as many driveways are visible from the front of a property a good quality one will help improve a property’s fabled ‘kerb appeal.’ The kerb appeal of a property is its general appearance when people first see it from the front; much depends on first impressions, so top quality hard standing areas such as modern resin driveways contribute significantly to the look of a property. 2. Garage conversion A popular way to add value and increase the scope of a property, especially in conjunction with installing a new driveway for parking if you decide to dispense with your garage. Because the structure is already in place in terms of walls and ceiling, a garage conversion can be good value and not too disruptive while work is undertaken. Integral garages are especially popular as conversions, and various spaces can be created including extra bathrooms and bedrooms, home offices or workshops, home gyms or dens. 3. Loft conversion These are a relatively easy way to add more room to a property by utilising dead space. Modern loft conversions can create all sorts of rooms such as a spare bedroom, den, office or an extra bathroom, and these all add value. They may even push a property into the next price bracket if an extra bedroom of reasonable size effectively increases its ‘bedroom count’. 4. Basements and cellar conversions Either converting an existing cellar to a room of some type or even digging down from the ground floor...