The right sort of improvements are said to add thousands to the value of a home, according to the experts – but of course it’s knowing which ones to do that is the clever trick.

The colour of paint has an important role to play – decoration does sell homes.

The favourite shades of the moment are yellow and orange.

But beware – fashions change very quickly.

More neutral colours are usually more popular among buyers – and will look less dated.

With the larger jobs around the home, don’t spend hours of working on misguided DIY – it could even slash the value of your home if you make a real mess of it.

The most desirable improvements are:

Installing a new bathroom suite

Putting in a new central heating system

Investing in a new kitchen

Adding a garage

The more valuable your property, the more value you can add by doing any of these four things.

It should mean that you are able to recoup your costs, and in many cases make a profit if you sell up.

For example a new bathroom could add as much as 10 per cent to the value of your home.

If you put in a new kitchen it could add five per cent to the value, and a garage could mean around an extra six per cent.

But if you spend too much on your house, you may never recoup the amount.

If your home is similar to other properties in the street, buyers tend to pay roughly the going rate for the area.

If you want to add extra rooms to your house, building an extension adds more value.

But beware – creating extra bedrooms by reducing the size of other rooms could actually cut the value of your home.

source : icnetwork.co.uk