To overlook that your home is an asset is a mistake.
You don’t have to be a hungry landlord or offer your home for a holiday rental to benefit financially. As far as assets go, owning a property is a sound investment. For years now, the returns have been very consistent and upward trending.
Despite the endless warnings that the housing bubble must pop and when we’re yet to see this come to pass. Yes, it’s arguable that the current situation isn’t sustainable, but look around; most of the way we run society right now is unsustainable.
The fact of the matter is you’re almost never going to wake up one morning to discover that your home has lost all value (as long as you’re appropriately insured, that is). Having established that your home is an asset, it’s almost impossible to argue against the need to protect that valuable asset and its value.
Adding value to your home
There are many ways your home can increase in value. Plenty of them might seem wholly out of your control, but many you have some influence over.
It’s true that you’re never going to be able to change the location of your property or force your neighbours to clean up their front yards. You can, of course, get involved with your local council and attempt to improve the aesthetic and value of the area, but who really has time for that? It’s safe to say there’s a limit to your control over external factors. This only makes the necessity for you to focus on those internal factors even higher.
Start with your foundations – every aspect of our lives, both physical and philosophical, is better supported with quality foundations. It may seem cruel, but it’s a fact that age will come for us all eventually. Not even the foundations of your property can escape the inevitability of deterioration.
Make sure you get to know the ins and outs of your home’s foundations to better monitor their health. It’s not going to hurt to have a professional assessment every decade or so. Much like the human body, it’s better to catch the issues going on before they have the chance to fully manifest.
The protection of your asset
There is something easy and important you can do at your place.
Maintain the land surrounding your home. Given the diversity of home blocks across Australia, we could really be talking about a small patio in the city, through to acres of land. For argument’s sake, let’s talk about small garden areas.
Taking the time to improve on and manage any garden space you’re fortunate to have, is a surefire way to protect the value of your property. Turning an overgrown and wild grassy space into a beautiful bed of flowers or a fully functioning veggie patch will not only improve your experience of the property but also increase its value of it considerably.
For those of us with a little bit of extra space, including an outside area for socialising is another no-brainer.
Everyone loves having a deck. Everyone loves a little BBQ on said deck, and why not throw in some comfy chairs or even a hammock to really get the party going? All you really need is a coat of the best product for deck protection on your timber, like the best decking oil for Merbau, and you’ll be good to go for years to come.
Don’t let the exterior of your home get run down or washed out. It’s easy to focus solely on the insides of our home and completely neglect the exterior.
The upside to the upkeep of your home
There are some basic things you can do that make a huge difference in and around your place.
Simple things like a repaint every 5-10 years and a regular deep wash of the windows will go miles to keep it looking fresh. If your particular focus is to ‘protect your asset’, it’s imperative that you remember to clear your gutters on the regular (at least once a year). This is even more important these days with all the extra flooding we’ve been getting.
If you haven’t done that already, consider installing solar panels. They can feel like a hefty amount to fork out at the time, but the savings will get you back, and you’ll be increasing your self-sufficiency as well as increasing the value of your property. Not to mention, it’ll leave you with that new home design feeling.
A home’s not really a home if it doesn’t look at least a little bit lived in. Whether it’s kids or pets or simply a messy hobby and a busy life, we can’t always keep the insides of our homes looking spick and span – we can leave that to the ads for luxury home builders in Melbourne.
What you can do to improve and maintain the value of your home’s interior is quite simple. Don’t let the little repairs stack up until the whole house is in disrepair. It’s just so easy for us to put the little jobs off until we don’t notice the issues anymore.
The list of tasks snowballs, and before we know it, it is as long as both our arms. If there’s a creaking door, try to get it fixed straight away. Is one of the splashback tiles broken? Don’t let it go unfixed for months. You should also take care to maintain and treat the furnishing of your home. Got hardwood floors? Don’t neglect the timber floor polish. Fixing all the little things as and when they crop up will ensure you keep on top of things.
Improving your home
It might sound like it’s the last thing on your list, but you should aim for a bit of home improvement. This isn’t always financially viable; we can’t all afford to remodel every other year.
Even just adding a little upgrade here and there can ensure your property value continues going up in value.
This can be as simple as applying a fresh coat of paint every few years or refreshing the carpets. If you do have the cash to upgrade, try to focus it on the appliances and built-in parts of your home. Replacing things like kitchen cabinets or the ones in your bathroom to keep them fresh and modern will ensure the value of your home doesn’t decrease over time. Feeling fancy? Why not install something a little unique?
Opting for some black floorboards or a chic feature wall will enhance the aesthetic whilst also protecting the value of the most useful asset you own.