I often get asked by investors or home buyers for advice with respect to renovations within their investments and homes with regards to the most lucrative improvements? Should we make the kitchen open plan or keep it separate? Should we add a bedroom or a bathroom? It is a lot to think about and some decisions could ultimately affect how much you may gain in capital growth when you decide to sell the property at some time in the future. First let’s look at kitchens, to make it open plan or keep it separate? This one’s easy, do whatever you would prefer. In all my years in agency I would defiantly say there is a 50/50 split on this one, and neither will improve or decrease the value of your home. Bedrooms, please do not remove a bedroom under any circumstances. Many have turned a bedroom into a bathroom or a dressing room or office, this is not a good idea and will devalue your property overnight, the more bedrooms a home has the more valuable it becomes, unless of course you have a larger than average home. Adding a bathroom? This is probably one of the most profitable assets you could add to your home which would increase the value of your property overnight both from a rental and a sales perspective. Having an extra bathroom makes for easy living whether you have sharers or guests staying, it means you get to have your own private space and you cannot put a price on that. Wood flooring? Yes, please do. Carpets are a real no, no for most property hunters today, they are unhygienic and old fashioned. Go for a good quality solid wood or engineered wood for a long-lasting surface that will go on for years and showcase your property at its best. Boilers? If you have to replace the boiler go for an electric one. They are way more practical in terms of rentals from an investors perspective and for the home owner should you decide to rent your home at some point this will be far less maintenance and omit the safety issues surrounding gas. Overall, they tend to require far less maintenance too. So be smart, don’t rush in, think about the long term effect of improvements before you get too emotionally invested.