by Tal Potishman
In the United Kingdom, housing prices dropped by fifteen percent over the last twelve months. If a house is sold today it is likely that the house is sold at a loss. For a long time, the real estate market operated with the buyers understanding that they would be able to sell their homes for a profit later on. The only way for this rule to still apply to the selling price of a person’s home is if the homeowner drastically improves the value of the house that he or she is trying to sell. Upgrading the plumbing and heating systems in a house is one of the best ways to raise the value of a house.
Homeowners in the UK have grown increasingly enamoured with environmentally friendly upgrades. This type of “green” upgrade includes installing solar panels on a house and investing in a water heater that is energy efficient. The installation of solar panels can decrease a house’s energy costs and reduce CO2 emissions of the house by half a tonne each year that the panels are installed.
These panels increase the value of a house and simultaneously reduce the environmental impact of the house. An energy efficient water heater will impress all home buyers. The energy efficient water heater ensures that one’s bath and shower always have hot water.
Another house upgrade that home owners may consider investing in is underfloor heating. Underfloor heating can be done with wet or dry pipe systems which transfer the heat through the floor of a house into the rooms above it. This keeps the room at a uniform temperature without forcing house owners to rely on a wall-hung radiator or a other types of units.
These systems have an easier time of heating and cooling than other systems and cost less to operate. Recently underfloor heating’s market share has grown and this has gone a long way to increasing the value of houses that have it installed.
Other methods of increasing the value of a house include a kitchen and bathroom upgrade. These rooms have a variety of upgrade options including installing modern fixtures, new flooring, new cabinets and modern lighting. These are just a few upgrades that house buyers appreciate and that add value to one’s home.
The unpredictability of the United Kingdom’s housing market means that house owners are becoming responsible for the value of the houses they are trying to sell. Upgrading a house’s cooling and heating systems and making sure that the plumbing systems are efficient and modern are the two most popular ways of increasing the value of a house that one wishes to sell. Upgraded bathrooms, kitchens and the installation of underfloor heating and other environmentally friendly features are other steps house owners can take to raise house values.
About the Author:
Tal Potishman, editor of Heating Central, writes articles about
efficient heating, boilers,
Brighton boiler, underfloor heating and solar thermal. He specializes in helping save money by advising on efficient heating.
