7 Tips to Increase the Value of your House in the Philippines

Do you want to increase the value of your Real Estate Property in the Philippines? Let me show you some ways to increase the value of your house so it can be easier for you to sell it.

But first – have you checked the zonal value of your property recently? Zonal value is the market value of your property as determined by the Commissioner at the nearest Revenue District Office in your area, or the fair market value as shown in the schedule of values of the Provincial or City Assessor. This will determine how you will price your Philippine Real Estate property.

• Landscaping – spend a few thousands on making your garden a haven of flowers and trees. Take inspiration from magazine if you want to do it yourself, or hire the services of a professional landscaper. Can take you back from P40,000-P100,000 depending on how big your garden or area is and how complexity of the design. You don’t need over the top plants – choose from the top 10 NASA plants to efficiently purify the toxins produced in your home.
• Paint – everybody knows a fresh coat of paint in the right colors grants a new view of your house or wall – Botox for the house as it is called. Go to Ace hardware or True Value or Handyman in Robinsons to get a can of environment friendly paint with unpleasant fumes. This is not the time to experiment – stick to the basics for now, and let the new owners (who’ll hopefully buy your Philippines Real Estate property) decide for now.
• Wash – can’t afford a new can of paint? Why not Wash? Give your house a good scrub down – the screens, windows, pressure wash walls, gutters, etc. Do the same inside.
• Clean the floors – do you have extra money to spend? Buy new flooring. Can’t afford to do so? How about steam cleaning carpets, washing floors, filling up holes – make it sparkly and clean. You’ll never know who’s going to come in your front door.
• Clean your lighting fixtures – some can be deep in dust, admit it. Clean them by wiping with dry cloth or dusting it off. Replace busted bulbs.
• Face lift the kitchen – one of the most important parts of the house. Consider new plumbing fixtures, cupboards and countertops. It doesn’t have to be spectacular or something out of MTV’s Cribs. You just need it to be clean, presentable & usable.
• Renovate the bathroom – most people spend a lot of time in the bathroom so it’s crucial that your toilet bowl flushes when it’s tested by potential buyers, curtains are clean (if not new) with no water marks, replace missing tile grout, repaint a bit to make it sparkling new. Again, it doesn’t need to be opulent; it just needs to be clean, presentable & usable. If you can throw in a few extra bucks, install a new sink or tub.

Now please don’t think these are silver bullets to increasing the value of your home. Remember that in the Philippines, the value of the house depreciates over 30 years. After 30 years the value of your house equals to zero. Even if you do the following to your house but really, the economy isn’t participating, there isn’t much you can do. But it doesn't hurt to try :)