Making home improvements always seems like an excellent investment. Not only will you get to enjoy renovating and redecorating, you might even get a profit out of it. Ultimately, it will all pay off once it’s time for you to sell the house and move on to other adventures, won’t it?
While there are certainly some improvements you can make that will be worth the investment and increase the resale value of your home, there are some that will barely allow you to break even. Worse yet, some could even decrease your home’s value.
Here are a few of those so-called home “improvements” that are best avoided if you want to get the best bang for your buck when selling your house.
Luxury fixtures
You’ve probably heard it a million times before – minor improvements like upgraded fixtures are the easiest way to increase your home’s value. There is some truth to it. When you look at luxury homes and real estate, you’ll never see dull, outdated fixtures that look like they’ve just returned from war.
However, there’s a difference between upgrading your fixtures and installing expensive high-end ones. High-end fixtures, faucets, chandeliers, and more could set you back thousands. In return, you might be able to add a couple of hundred to your home’s resale value at best.
Therefore, if your fixtures are acceptable as-is, just leave them be. Alternatively, simply upgrade them for appealing, budget-friendly ones that won’t cost you an arm and a leg.
Open-floor concept
The open-floor concept is all the rage. Buyers are always interested in airy, spacious homes with plenty of natural light – and the open floor offers just that. Therefore, if you can tear down the wall between your living and dining room, for example, go for it. It could just turn out to be profitable when you’re selling.
However, if you want to create an open-floor concept at the expense of losing a bedroom adjacent to the living/dining room, it’s best not to do it. After all, it’s not just the square footage that adds to the value of your home. It’s also the number of bedrooms you have.
So, unless you’re doing it so you and your family can enjoy it, don’t try to create an open-floor concept by removing a bedroom.
Swimming pool
Depending on your location, investing in a swimming pool could be the worst addition to your home if you want to increase its value. Not only are they incredibly expensive to create but also incredibly expensive to maintain, so most buyers will be wary of homes with swimming pools.
Sometimes, they’ll ask for a price reduction because of it. They’ll often simply avoid buying a home with a swimming pool, regardless of the price.
As mentioned, however, this will all mainly depend on your location. For example, having a swimming pool will be attractive to buyers if your home is in a warmer state, like Florida, California, Texas, and the like.
If you’re located in colder states, like Michigan, Maine, or Wisconsin, it’s best to avoid building a swimming pool in your backyard. You could do much better things with your outdoor space to add value to your home.
Lux kitchen
A full kitchen remodel is one of the most expensive renovations you could have. On average, a mid-range kitchen remodel will set you back around $80,809, while it will only add around $45,370 to the value of your home. A lux kitchen will be even more expensive, and you still won’t be able to break even when you’re selling your home.
Fortunately, you could do a few inexpensive things to update the overall look of your kitchen and increase the returns on your investment. As mentioned earlier, you could update the fixtures, repaint the cabinets, or get new countertops.
Depending on how your kitchen looks, just a good scrub might be enough to make it look almost brand new.
Building extensions
Building an extension or an addition to your home can be controversial since some buyers might love it while others might hate it.
A kitchen extension might attract buyers who love to spend time in the kitchen, while it could turn away those who prefer a larger yard. A sunroom extension might appeal to those who would love more natural light in their homes, but it might repel those worried about keeping all the windows clean.
Still, whether the buyers love or hate it, an extension is usually an expensive investment that doesn’t offer a complete return on investment.
In general, it would be more appealing to your buyers and your wallet if you get planning permissions, for instance, and leave the work to the buyers themselves.
Final thoughts
Extensions, kitchen remodels, swimming pools, and more rarely offer great returns on your investments. If you’re thinking about any of these home improvements solely to increase your home’s value, you’ll likely end up disappointed.
However, if you’re thinking about them because you and your family want to enjoy them, don’t be afraid to invest in them. After all, not everything you do needs to make you a profit down the line. Sometimes, these home improvements are just about making your home more appealing to you.
