Investigate your home’s history to increase its value

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by Kay Murchie

With house prices expected to fall this year, Knight Frank estate agents in Winchester, are encouraging homeowners to investigate the history behind their home in order to sell it for a healthy profit.

This pastime has become extremely popular following the success of television programmes such as the BBC’s House Detectives and the History Channel’s Hidden House History.

Andrew Rome of Knight Frank said revealing the truth about your home could help you sell it for a healthy profit and give it an edge over the competitors, particularly in a slow market. For example, if one home has been owned by Dick Turpin, it will be bought in preference to the identical house which hasn’t.

Mr Rome added that many believe their home doesn’t have a past but they could be in for a shock. People don’t necessarily buy a house because it has a history, however having one makes it interesting and creates a way of achieving a quick sale.

Melanie Backe-Hansen of London-based agency Chesterton added that every home reveals something. It doesn’t have to be a sensational story but it could be that the house was occupied by a family of blacksmiths for 100 years.

Ms Backe-Hansen continued that the history behind a home can help build emotion around a sale and give a potential buyer a personal relationship with a property. It’s not just about bricks and mortar.

House-history research consultancies charge anything from £150 to trace the background of your home but investigating it yourself could prove much more cost-effective. Most of the resources needed can be found locally.