| Personal finance articles |
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Should you improve or move?
By Naomi Caine
- Experts offer some general tips to anyone who is thinking of improving rather than moving. First, make sure the work is of a high, professional standard.
- Second, check that any extensions or improvements are appropriate to the house. If you install a £20,000 kitchen in a £150,000 house, you are unlikely to get all your money back when you sell.
- Third, keep within the bounds of taste. Some home improvement enthusiasts are wiping thousands of pounds off the value of their properties with tasteless decorating and DIY. If you rip out period features and install modern UPVC windows, you could knock 10% off the value of your home, according to a survey by Direct Line Home Insurance. And gleaming wooden floorboards are no longer de rigueur, with budget versions thought to knock a further 2% off prices.
- Finally, remember that the most important home improvement is beyond your control: you cannot move your house to a better area. And a house in the best neighborhood can command a price more than a third higher than a similar property in an average area.
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