big home

Photo source: Property Division http://bit.ly/2Bb6Euj

Home improvements can surely raise the value of a home. However, knocking down a wall or putting one up is a lot of work and can change the entire appearance of a house. Plan your steps carefully and think in perspective:

  • Am I going to like it next year too?
  • Will a potential buyer like it?
  • Is this project cost efficient and raising the value of the property?

Answer these simple questions and then start planning things directly on a piece of paper.

We found some nice ideas in an article on Property Division. The experts there suggest some additions to a house that are both a good idea of the ones living there now, and for potential buyers:

  • a conservatory
  • a balcony
  • an open plan kitchen
  • a loft conversion

Which would you choose for your home?

 

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“Your home is your castle” or “Your castle is your home”? In some very fortunate cases, the later is also true for real castles and their inhabitants. 

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle Labeled for reuse.

All across Europe, castles have been built as a sign of fortune and fame. Queens, kings and their children – princes and princesses, lived once in the most fortified and beautiful buildings in their land.

In those times, only royalty could live the fairy-tale of having a home that included: a dance hall, at least one dining room with an enormous table, bedrooms for themselves and the servants, more than one bathroom, a library, dressing rooms, and stables. Well, this is the kind of house you want to play hide-and-seek in as a child.

Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/Krakow_Wawel_20070804_0930.jpg Labeled for reuse.

However, those fortunate (and we mean this in the most literal way, as in owning a fortune) enough can still live in a castle today. Europe has castles that can be lived in today in countries like Italy, Germany, France, and UK. The largest inhabited castle is the Windsor Castle in Berkshire, for example. One can also sleep in the Berkeley Castle, Gloucestershire, and maybe feel like the Sleeping Beauty waiting to be awakened by a prince.

These type of properties usually have prices that exceed 2,000,000 GBP. Just like in the case of a normal property, the price depends on the number of bedrooms. An indoor garden the size of a park or a football field rises the value of the property, just like a big balcony might raise the value of an apartment.

If you are one of the potential buyers of a castle, to get a clear picture of what your life will be like, please read this article. It will give you a sense of the burdens, not only the advantages of living in a castle. Like the “agonizing five (5) minute walk to the home from the car” or the “We forgot the butter” problem.

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