Home maintenance is something every homeowner should do, such as staining the deck or maintaining the roof, but some choose to make improvements with the intention of increasing the home's value. Some improvements, such as adding a well thought-out family room can be a wise investment, as that does add to the value of the home. Other improvements, however, allow little opportunity to recover the costs when it's time to sell.
Some projects might add a great value to the owner way of living but it doesn’t mean it would add value to the property, as the buyer could not be impressed with it!
Here are some projects you think add value to your home, but really don't.
Extensive Landscaping
A well-maintained or mature landscaping is always appreciated, but don't necessary increase the value of the property. A beautiful yard may encourage potential buyers to take a closer look at the property, but if the new buyer is not planning to put the effort to maintain a garden, it will quickly become an eyesore, or the new homeowner might need to pay a qualified gardener to take charge. Either way, many buyers view elaborate landscaping as a burden and the value of it won’t be included in the home value.
High-End Upgrades
Upgrades should be consistent in your home, having high-end tiles with bathrooms or carpets from the 70s won’t add value to your property. High-quality upgrades generally increase the value of high-end homes, but not necessarily mid-range houses where the upgrade may be inconsistent with the rest of the home.
In addition, specific high-end features such as media rooms with specialized audio or gaming equipment may be appealing to a few prospective buyers, but many potential home buyers would not consider paying more for the home simply because of this additional feature.
Wall-to-Wall Carpeting
Todays home buyers may cringe at the idea of having wall-to-wall carpeting. Carpeting is expensive to purchase and install. In addition, there is growing concern over the healthfulness of carpeting due to the amount of chemicals used in its processing and the potential for allergens. Add to that the probability that the carpet style and colour that you thought was absolutely perfect might not be what someone else had in mind.
Because of these hurdles, wall-to-wall carpet is something on which it's difficult to recoup the costs. Removing carpeting and restoring wood floors is usually a more profitable investment.
Invisible Improvements
Invisible improvements are those costly projects that you know make your house a better place to live in, but that nobody else would notice. A new plumbing system or HVAC unit (heating, venting and air conditioning) might be necessary, but recovering the costs are not something to expect when it comes time to sell. Many home buyers simply expect these systems to be in good working order and will not pay extra just because you recently installed a new heater. It may be better to think of these improvements in terms of regular maintenance, and not an investment in your home's value.
Swimming Pools
Many potential home buyers view swimming pools as dangerous, expensive to maintain and not an additional value to the property. Families with young children in particular may turn down an otherwise perfect house because of the pool – they would prefer their kids to enjoy the poor at friend’s house but find it dangerous at theirs. In fact, a would-be buyer's offer may be contingent on the home seller dismantling an above-ground pool or filling in an in-ground pool.
An in-ground pool cost is high and additional yearly maintenance expenses need to be considered. That's a significant amount of money that might never be recouped if and when the house is sold.
Fall Outside the Norm
Homeowners tend to increase the value of a home, make many improvements to the property not keeping in mind that such improvement makes the home fall outside of the norm for the neighbourhood. In the neighbourhood of small, one-story homes, a large, expensive remodel, such as adding a second story with two bedrooms and a full bath, might make the home more appealing, it will not add significantly to the resale value of the house.
In general, home buyers do not want to pay $500,000 for a house that sits in a neighbourhood with an average sales price of $300,000; the buyer will instead look to spend that amount in a $500,000 neighbourhood.In general, home improvements are meant to keep your property at it’s best and usually high costs projects that are over the top of the necessary maintenance won’t be paid off in the time comes to sell your home.
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