What to Avoid When Improving Your Home for Resale Value

Making home improvements and renovations are a part of home ownership. Many improvements are done solely for the benefit of the homeowner and family without regard to resale value. Other improvements are done to improve the value of the home for future sales potential. When planning improvements to increase the value of a home, there are a few things that should be avoided.

Improving well beyond the neighborhood value:

Homes in most neighborhoods tend to fall within one or two price ranges. An area may contain single story homes for slightly under $100,000 and larger two story homes in the $125,000 range. Improving or adding on to a single story home in that area, to create more living space, may work. Increasing the living space by 50% on a two story home may not. Adding $50,000 or more to the price of a home in a $125,000 neighborhood is not likely to have buyers lining up at the door.

Excesses in kitchen and bath remodels:

If you intend to stay in your home forever then converting the dining room into a gourmet kitchen is something you can do for yourself. Making the same renovation with the intention of recouping the investment is not a good plan. A very small kitchen may benefit from some additional space but tens of thousands of dollars spent on a luxury kitchen will end up being flushed away.

The same rule applies to bathroom remodels. If a bathroom only has a shower and no tub it may be beneficial to make this change. If you think that installing a garden style whirlpool tub just for the sake of investment is a good idea, think again. This should be kept in mind if you are considering installing an additional bathroom too. If your three or four bedroom home only has one bathroom, an additional bathroom will be an improvement. Knocking out a bedroom closet to create an extra bath in a home that already has four is not going to help the resale value.

Paint:

A freshly painted clean home is always appreciated in the eyes of a buyer. However, when planning on painting work there are a few things to keep in mind. No matter how much you like bright or unusual colors using these before reselling is a bad idea. Keep the colors in neutral tones that are usually received well by prospective buyers. Dark and bright colors can also be more difficult to repaint which could cost you in the long run. Many buyers will actually want to paint the home themselves after they move in so unless the existing paint is bad it might be better to just wash the walls well.

Other non-value adding improvements:

Swimming pools can be seen as a blessing to some buyers and a curse to others. The only way to know if a pool would really add value to your home is by checking other homes in the area. Excess or unusual landscaping can also detract from your homes value. Curb appeal is one thing, exotic plants and trees that require unusual care are a whole different concept.

The best way to see what improvements will actually add to the resale value is by checking home sale prices in your area. If the home with a pool just sold for over the original asking price go for it. If the home with the garage that was converted into a playroom is still up for sale six months later you will know that may not be a good choice.