As we are all adjusting to life during Coronavirus, every aspect of our lives have in some way been affected by this disease and our view is to ‘take the fight to the disease to manage the damage limitation’. You might be asking – how can I do this? We are all aware of the government advice of washing hands, social distancing and staying at home if possible, but what else can you do to reduce the impact of Covid-19 to your ‘normal’ lives? Your thoughts mayhave wandered into the state of the economy, what will happen to property values in the short and long term? I listened to a CEO & Chair of a leading global bank this week and he believes the impact of the economy will surpass the devastation left by the global financial crash in 2008. In 2008 reports suggest that property values plummeted by an average of 16.2%. Listening to Bill Gates this morning he predicts that (long term) the economy will get back to where it was and as a result of the pandemic we shall be much better prepared for future pandemics.
So how do we manage the short term, how do we protect what is typically the largest asset we have in our lifetime?
Our homes. 2 weeks ago, we at Plan It UK, created a ‘social-distancing freindly’ guide which allows you to take photos of your property and to sketch a floorplan from the safety of your own home without the need for us to make a visit. You simply email us a photo of your floor-plan sketches and some photos of the external sides of your property. We can then prepare full planning drawings from the safety of our home, protecting you and us. Link at the bottom of this blog.. This will allow the local council to review and decide on your application in readiness for when the pandemic is over, if you obtain consent – this lasts for 3 years! Obtaining planning permission and building extensions on your property has always been a sure fire way for homeowners to increase the value of your property. Figures suggest that obtaining planning permission on your property could increase your house price by up to 5% on its original value depending on location, property type and condition. Planning that extension you’ve always wanted to build can be one of the best investments you can make.
And in the situation of a financial crisis, it can be a strong way to protect the value of your house. The average house price in South London is around £578,000. If the housing market takes a 16% hit, as it did in the 2008 financial crash, your property will now be worth around £485,520. But consider the impact of getting planning permission on your house. For the average house in South London – a 5% increase would see the value increase to £509,706. This could see a recovery of up to £24,276 on the value of your home. So for an investment of less than £1,000, you could look at recovering up to £25k on the value of your property. Now, more than ever, is the perfect time to protect and strengthen the assets you do have.