If you're planning to climb the property ladder, then knowing how to add value to your home and ensure the best return when you decide to sell up and move on is crucialThere are plenty of ways to help boost the overall appeal of your home to make it more attractive to potential buyers. Converting the loft or renovating the kitchen are the most obvious examples (and potentially the most costly), however there are other improvements such as sprucing up the garden or giving your rooms a fresh lick of paint that won't necessarily break the bank. Here's six top ways to improve the value of your home...1. Increase the square footage. Extending your property through incorporating a side return to make a more spacious kitchen or moving up into the loft to create an additional double bedroom complete with en suite are probably the two of the most popular ways to increase the value of your home. Indeed recent reasearch by the Nationwide Building Society suggests such improvements can add up to 23 per cent. However, they're likely to be the most expensive, setting you back anything from £50,000 upwards. They're also potentially the most disruptive, too. It's always worth speaking to an estate agent first to get an indication of how much value the improvement will add, allowing you to make an informed decision and weigh up the pros and cons. But if you have the capacity - and planning permission if necessary - it's certainly worth considering.2. Freshen things up. If extending the property is out of the question then a slightly cheaper and less invasive option is to refurbish. This could be anything from installing a new, all singing all dancing kitchen or bathroom, through to simply redecorating. Costs will vary depending on what you do - a good kitchen could cost anything from £25,000. But whatever you decide, it's important to keep improvements neutral in taste. You want your home to have the broadest possible appeal, so avoid anything too quirky or unusual.
