How to get a good house valuation

You may think that there isn’t a lot you can do to help increase your house valuation, particularly as it’s difficult to change the age and size of your house. There are however lots of cost effective things you can do to give it a boost.

1. Presentation

Presentation is an extremely important part of the moving process. The way your property is presented to the estate agent will help he or she to work out your valuation figure. Making a good first impression is key, so try to tidy up the exterior of your property as it’s the first thing anyone will see. Tidy the garden making sure to hide unsightly bins, de-weed and neaten up any overgrown plants. This will help you to kick the house valuation process off the right way.

2. Research

Be sure to research any recently sold, or on market, properties nearby to you. This information will arm you with the statistics you need so that you know what sort of figure you can achieve. Two or three properties of the same size in a similar area will be enough and you can discuss these with your estate agent to negotiate your valuation figure.

3. Honesty

More often than not, the estate agent will notice any problem areas within your house and trying to cover them up may affect your house valuation. Be honest about the things in your house that need a little work but be sure to point out the features that make you love your house too so they know what to point out to potential buyers.

4. Improvements

Try to have any renovations or half finished building work completed before you come to sell. Failing to do so means the effort and cost of these improvements will be wasted money. In taking on home improvements to raise your house valuation figure, make sure the cost of the improvements doesn’t come to more than the work will add to your property.

5. Patience

Although the estate agent might give you a figure straight away, it may can be more helpful to let them research into land value or local comparable properties before they give their valuation number. Giving your agent the space to calculate a figure could help you to add a few thousand pounds to your house valuation.