Does a Home Cinema improve the value of a house?

loz

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Do people ever consider the cost in terms of the effect it has on the value of their house? As they would with a new kitchen or a conservatory?
Is a home cinema conversion considered a good investment in terms of adding to a property?
If you converted the garage, is the loss of a garage considered a negative impact?
 
Loss of a garage can often have a negative impact, not only for car users but also because of the loss of potential storage space. For example, I'd never buy a house without a garage I could put my car into as I wouldn't want to leave it outside overnight.

As for a home cinema adding value to the house, I guess it depends - if it's a dedicated room, particularly if it's a dark colour, it's probably not going to do much for the value. If it's a home cinema setup in a living room as long as it's done well I can't see it doing any harm.

All IMHO of course.

John
 
I've seen a few where the garage door has just been partioned off, so the room can be converted back to a garage if necessary. I think if you did that you wouldn't have to worry. Plus people outside won't necessarily know what you've done in there.

Gary.
 
Definitely doesn't add value and the loss of a garage is a big negative. The room I'm building in my double garage at the moment leaves storage space in the garage part but not enough room for a car. If I were selling the house I would point out that the room can be removed and the garage re-instated in a few hours (much less than it's taking to build !) given that its just timber and plasterboard. Those who have built breeze block walls across the garage door have a more difficult job but still not that difficult. Just don't expect new buyers to fall in love with your HC room !

Ray
 
Well I hope my cellar conversion will add value to the house, it will make a damp coal hole into a useable room :)

My plan is to throw in the whole shebang at a later date if someone falls in love with the idea of a HT and add a grand or so to the sale for fixtures and fittings :)

That'll mean I can build a whole new system wherever I go next :D

MB
 
There seems to be a big difference in my mind between 1 or 2, and 3.
1. putting some home cinema equipment in a room and calling it a home cinema
2. converting an existing space like loft or garage into a room - and doing 1
3. Making structural changes that are specific to a home cinema liked raised floor levels for seats, fitting projector into wall, equipement room, back projection, etc, etc

1 and 2 are easily reversed - the equipment is just furniture and it is the way you have chosen to use the room
but 3 is clearly specific to a HC.
In a small house I can see many buyers put off if they expected a garage, bedroom or dining room for example, and found a HC instead that needed ripping out.
However, in a large house with a surplus of rooms I could see it being considered an added value.
If it is a loft or basement conversion, well that adds value in its own right I guess, regardless of the use made of it
 
Loz they are good points and to some degree it does depend on what you have had done to get a dedicated hc room.

I have had my cellar converted, and like matblack as stated, this has turned it from a damp dingy room to a good useable room. I guess this would have added some value to my house, how much i dont know but if it is some of what i paid then it would be good.
 
I've noticed home cinema's being installed as a feature of "luxury" homes by developers, so I guess at some stage they are seen as being desirable, these guys wouldn't spend the money without good reason.
 
I would imagine anything that turns a dead space (cellar, garage, loft) into a useable room would increase the value providing it complies with building regulations and can be classed as a room.
I remember seeing houses with converted lofts that didn't meet all the building regs (no door, proper stairs etc.) so couldn't be described as 'rooms' for the benefit of estate agents details and official valuations.

I doubt that having a lot of HC gear in a room would add value and II would attempt to minimise it as part of 'house doctoring' the lounge if/when we sell up.
 
My loft isn't a proper conversion, but merely a means to an end - I couldn't put the projector anywhere else without compromising the room it would go in.

At best, I would think the loft 'room' may add more of an incentive, a bonus if you like rather than value. Given the choice between two identical houses at the same price, the one with a cosy loft may swing the sale.

Gary.
 
The loss of garage would certainly limit the number of prospective buyers but probably not it's value. Still I left the doors up on my conversion building a brick wall up behind them (recomended by the Estate Agents I asked). This leaves the option to un-convert should I find selling it difficult. The lack of 'junk' storage (which is all I had in it - cars never saw the inside of it more than a few times) is offset by usable living space - it's horses for courses.
That said, the reason for building a home cinema shouldn't be for increasing the value of the property, it's for you. If like others you have created (or are creating) a proper new room - cellar, loft, or extension - in doing it then that's just an added bonus.
Hatch
 
My garage has been partitioned off in the inside... however my lounge is being prepared to be my HC too.
At the mome3nt the garage is a storage room, and with my plasma and av kit backing into it, flushed through the lounge wall... there is not much room for a car now anyway!

I will later hope to convert it into another room... need to plasterboard it up or something and add some raised flooring (so it maches the lounge height floor), as its very cold on the concrete floor, even with carpet.
 
I dont have a dedicated converted space such as a garage or loft, but I would imagine what I have done to the living room could be seen to have a negative effect if trying to sell the house.

The skirting boards are removable in sections and have metres of plastic trunking behind them as well as speaker terminals and other terminals in them, the celing has a great hole in it where the projector mount is for all the cables, there is the the holes in the ceiling where the screen is.
 
Generally, a garage conversion can add value if the house is sufficiently large or has other storage space. Few people actually put a car in the garage, but as workshop and store, or just a place for the freezer, it is invaluable.

Loft conversions and basements add value, but specific HC use does not.

HC use is way down the list in choosing a new home and only has limited appeal to a very small % of buyers. Its better to promote the converted space for its value as an extra room, and mention the HC use as an aside.
 

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