A feature by Jennifer Duke reports that opportunities that sit up in the loft tend to go right over people’s heads, meaning that even savvy investors can miss out on big profits.

Read the full article here…

Extract from full article in Sydney Morning Herald  Domain:

Convert an attic

Added value: $80,000 with drop-down stairs, $150,000 for usable room with fixed stairs.

Kell estimates it costs $20,000 to convert an attic for storage and $40,000-$50,000 to turn it into a home office or bedroom.

The latter involves strengthening structure, insulating, adding an operable skylight window and installing stairs – either drop-down or permanent.

But there are challenges, such as where to locate the stairs without messing up the lower-level layout.

“Attic conversion is a definite bonus, especially in areas like ours [the inner west] where land size is only around 180 square metres. Even with pull-down stairs and lining, an attic conversion will make the house more saleable,” Pilcher says.