We have previously spoken about doing work in a country house to prepare it for rental. - Today we will speak about doing work in a country house to enable you to obtain a better price when selling: that is to say improvements that will add value to your house.

01 Works in a country house. Improvements to help you sell

After reviewing the condition of your country house we can say what is the most attractive thing about it and what is not , and using this as a guideline help you to renovate it, remembering that the first impression a client gets is the decisive one.

A Work to help you sell more rapidly.

The most important thing is to check that your country house is in good condition to put on the market, as the first time a client sees a property they get the initial impression and for this it must be in perfect condition.

It is important to give an attractive touch to your country house so that the client has a good impression just by entering it , and especially that all lighting is good, You do not have to overload it with furniture but ensure that decoration and furniture are modern.

The views from the exterior are also important, and the garden and pool should be in good condition and well maintained.

The most important thing when selling your country house is the access . Ideally it would be asphalt but if that is not possible the dirt track should be kept clean and well maintained.

B Work which will add value to your house.

Over time everything loses value, so to ensure that a country house appears in good condition and can be sold at anytime you have to sometimes update parts of the house to keep it in good condition. Some ideas would be:

A good bathroom. Ultimately for comfort and easy access replace baths with showers.

Double glazed windows due to their composition are prepared to insulate from the cold and from the heat.

Flooring and painting. A good floor and walls and ceilings in perfect condition get the attention of a prospective purchaser. If you have a fireplace in your country house we suggest that it gets a coat of paint every year at the end of winter as the smoke can discolour and give a smell to the room where the fire is located.

Fireplace : A fireplace in a country house is a good idea and investment , appealing to clients as it provides a cozy comfortable feeling in winter.

02 Works in a country house : How to improve the house

Before doing any type of work in a country house , we must carefully take into account what is necessary and essential to improve the property.

A Updating.

Spaces . You can change the distribution of the property. Sometimes we get tired of always seeing the furniture and decorative items in the same place, from time to time we can change the distribution to give a different touch, it can even make a room seem wider depending on how we place the furniture. For example in the living room, only changing the sofa and the coffee table can make it look new.

Ambience : Modernisation of the ambience of the property to appeal to potential purchasers. The ambience of a country house is very important and if the atmosphere is modern and not overloaded with decoration and furniture it is better as it give the impression of being much larger.

Buyers are always more attracted to a property that is spacious, organized and modern.

We would recommend that you reform or modernize the bathroom or the kitchen, put in a pool or improve the access to the property.

Painting of walls and ceilings When it comes to selling a house in the country it is important to check all the walls for humidity, chips or cracks...

A coat of good quality paint in white or a neutral colour will give a feeling of greater quality to the house and make the clients feel at home during their visit.

Kitchens and bathrooms: These are areas which are most used and so suffer the most wear and tear. The kitchen and bathrooms are the areas which have the most wear as these are the places where we spend the most time.

For this reason it is important to replace what is necessary so that the bathroom is in good condition, such as the taps, accessories or the wc. or even retile if the the tiling is very old.

The same thing occurs in the kitchen, it is important that it is always clean and tidy and that white goods or accessories are replaced so that it always looks good.

B Create.

Increase the natural light in the house. Natural light is what gives a country house more value and a spatial quality than those with the same characteristics but with less light. . Therefore it is necessary to look for solutions, visually reviewing your home and trying to discover the points that obstruct the light.

To provide more light it is recommended to ensure a good distribution, that the walls are white or a pastel shade. Also, you can replace partitions with glass.

Storage space. It is equally important to have good storage space as to have solutions to make maximum usage of it.

Cupboards and kitchen furniture. Cupboards or kitchen furniture are the best solution for storing and makes it easier to find things. These are an excellent solution for optimizing the available space in smaller country houses.

Fitted wardrobes Fitted wardrobes are an excellent solution in a small country house where we want to make the most of the available space and provide a sense of order. . One of the advantages of fitted wardrobes is that they help us make the most of the available space in any room. . These type of wardrobes cover a larger interior surface than conventional ones , from the floor to the ceiling . They also add elegance to a room and create a sensation of space and order. They can be adapted much better to our needs when installing.

Additional wc. or bathroom. It is beneficial to have an additional wc in a country house, especially in the master bedroom as it is much more comfortable to have your own bathroom which you do not have to share with anyone. . An additonal bathroom or wc will increase the value of the house at the time of marketing as potential buyers do appreciate this and show more interest.

03 Works in a country house: What to improve

Although the country house may be old there is always some detail that can be modified or repaired to make it look more attractive and in better condition so that the client has a better view of it. Some points would be:

A Insulation. Improve the heating and cooling

The roof. As we know hot air rises and if the roof is not well insulated the heat will escape and when the heating is turned on in winter you will lose heat through the roof. Because of this it is important that the roof is well insulated.

Cold and Heat sources through ducts. The system of air distribution ducts, which in the case of a heat pump can distribute both heat and cold has the advantage of being completely integrated in the house or premises , without appliances in sight . A big advantage of the ducted air conditioning system is that it has the capacity to regulate the temperature and the flow of air in every area of the premises.

B Walls and floors.

Another of the things that are most called to attention in a country house is the condition of the interior walls and floors . If the floor of the country house is old and is in bad condition or uneven , that is a negative point in a sale and the ideal would be to put a new floor in : this would make the property appear more attractive and of more interest to clients. There is also the case of old floors which are old but well preserved and simply by polishing them can make them look like new. The same thing occurs with walls , sometimes they are dirty, show signs of humidity or have cracks, but when cleaned and a coat of paint applied can appear like new.

C Natural Light

Having natural light in a country house has many benefits, such as:

Savings and a lot on your electricity bill, as this permits you to make the most of the daylight hours without the need to have lamps and lights turned on while it is still daylight.

Fills your home with vitality and positive energy.

It is a decorative element and helps to make spaces appear larger.

Ensure good ventilation.

D Renew installations.

Electrical installations. When you are going to sell a country house, always pay attention to the state of the installations. If the house is old it is highly probable that the installation is obsolete and does not really meet your requriements,. It may also not comply with present safety requirements. In this case it must be completely changed.

One of the principal reasons to renew electrical installations is safety and also to avoid short circuits and power cuts.

Water and plumbing There are many reasons why we should renew plumbing in our country house and even more if we want to sell it, we have to be sure that all is in perfect condition and change anything that is necessary to avoid dripping taps, limescale or blockages in the tubes or problems with cisterns etc.

Gas. It is necessary to have periodic revisions of the gas installations in our country house whether it is natural gas, propane or butane. The review must be done by authorized professionals and you must have the certificate saying that both the system and the equipment function correctly.

Air and heating ducts. We must ensure before selling our country house that the air and heating ducts function correctly , as they are continually in use in both winter and summer and it is likely that there may be a leak or some other small problem that makes it not work correctly.

E Energy efficiency. Improve insulation.

Change the windows In winter we discover the deficiensies in the insulation of our homes. One of the most important is the air that we lose through the windows of our country house. These air leaks are really important as we lose part of the heat we have created thus increasing the cost of maintaining our home at a suitable temperature.

The reasons why windows have these problems are normally age and the use of inadequate materials. Old windows have less insulating properties due to the manufacturing materials. These materials are changing and becoming more efficient over time.

It is necessary to replace the windows as it reduces these deficiencies considerably and therefore reduces the cost of heating.

Improve the insulation of ceilings and façades. The thermal insulation of false ceiling of plasterboard or plaster is very important for comfort in the home. With the correct insulation of false ceilings all these thermal losses can be avoided and the property will be more comfortable and decrease our energy expenditure.

The façade of the property is one of the areas where most heat is lost , therefore with the correct insulation the loss will be drastically reduced thus making it more comfortable for the inhabitants.

F Improvements in energy consumption.

LED lights and electric consumption. LED lights are a good option to put in a country house as they are much safer and do not cause so much pollution, they also last longer and do not generate much heat so they do not set things on fire. They offer a considerable energy saving as they consume 85 % less than other types of lightbulbs.

Domestic electrical goods class A. At the time of acquiring a new domestic apppliance for our country house we must take into consideration many factors: style , make , price etc But without doubt the most important factor is efficiency, and one of the most important things is the savings to be made when they consume less water or energy.

Renewable energy. The advantages of renewable energy is that it cannot be exhausted and so is always available, they are also clean and have minimal effects on the environment.

G Doors and Windows.

Other things most used in a property and which are appreciated on the first visit are the doors and windows. If the doors and windows of our country house are in bad condition or are very old they can be changed by painting or lacquering or changing the handles and they will look like new. . If the windows are old and are not double glazed a lot of heat will be lost. If these are changed for windows with double glazing it will give our country house better insulation and acoustics.

H Lighting.

Good lighting in a property will increase our opportunity to sell our country house. If there is only a single window in the living room it can be replaced by a larger one or by a sliding patio door and constructing a balcony if it is not on the ground floor or access to the exterior if it is. By doing this we can amplify the lighting , save energy and add value to the property.

I Accessibility.

The most important is access to the house, that the entrance is asphalt and well cared for so that the any type of vehicle can reach the house without any difficulty.

Also better if there are no steps or as little as possible to make it easier for some on with walking disabilities.

04 Works in a country house. Financing the improvements.

There are various types of help given by the government for reforming our property, always when it is to improve the habitability.

A Economic aid for rehabilitation.

Normally every three years the government offers renewed help for the rehabilitation of properties and we can take advantage of that to inexpensively reform our county house in Spain and add to the value of our property.

Naturally there are some requirements that must be met before it is approved and in the main it focuses on energy efficiency , insulation and accessibility.

B Reform by tenant.

In the case that a tenant wants to make renovation to our county house or any type of property in Spain, there is an article in the law of urban leases that covers this , whereby the money for the reform can be deducted from the price of the rental.

This can only be done if the tenant and the owner are in agreement and it is finished within the stipulated time scale. The tenant cannot claim remuneration for this if it has been deducted from the monthly rent.

Have you a project but do not know how to carry it out. If you need help with your renovation, someone to advise you or give you an estimate for the necessary work on your country house or other property in Spain do not hesitate to contact us This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.