It’s a common misconception that all home renovations can increase your home value but there are some renovations that can decrease your home value when consider possibly selling in the future.
Most homeowners invest in their property value through home renovation projects with the goal of increasing the home value. It might seem that any renovation will help increase the home value but there are some that should be avoided that can actually decrease the home value.
Transforming a house into a home often comes with personal touches to make you feel comfortable and more at home. At the moment you might be thinking of certain home décor elements or renovation projects to make you more comfortable but can impact the value of your home if you want to sell in the future. You shouldn’t feel discouraged inputting your personal touch on your home, but some homeowners end up having to pay more money in redecorating and staging the house that will increase the value but will cost you.
The first thing to consider is whether investing in a renovation can best benefit your lifestyle and the terms of agreement when leasing, renting or buying a home. This can give you the opportunity to consider whether it’s worth investing in your current property or possibly looking for a new property that has all the upgrades you want but can have a higher property value than it out of your budget.
One common home renovation is removing closets to make a bigger space for a certain room. This might seem like a great idea but having built-in storage (closets) is more important for most people compared to having a bigger bedroom or office that is less important.
Another renovation that can decrease the home value is combining two smaller rooms into one bigger room with the goal of creating a bigger primary room. Cutting down the number of bedrooms can deter potential future buyers from scheduling a showing who require a certain number of rooms. Though having a bigger room might seem like an appeal, according to SparkRental each bedroom can add 15% to the value of a home.
Wallpaper can be a great way to decorate the walls aside from painting but is notoriously hard to remove. Homebuyers often view wallpaper as a red flag and a headache to remove themselves if they don’t have the same taste as you which can be very rare. A majority of homeowners considering listing are faced with either having to remove the wallpaper or repainting the walls that can be costly for staging.
Some homeowners prefer to have less traditional personalized décor that can be difficult to replace such as featuring bold paint colors on walls, textured ceiling, or tile patterns. Though you might enjoy these certain décor aspects, they are often hard to replace which can decrease the property value and can cost you to ultimately fix before listing. The best option is to make an effort to feature neutral colors for walls as this will increase the property value and give you the best chance of selling quickly when listing.
One common misconception of having a high-end kitchen is that the investment in new appliances or remodeling can increase the property value. Though it seems to be a wise investment, according to Remodeling in 2020 the national average for a kitchen remodel costs over $68,400 but the resale value was approximately $40,100.
Instead of investing in a completely new kitchen, it’s best to avoid renovations or buy new appliances that won’t give you a return on investment. It’s recommended to focus on aspects of your kitchen that might be worn or outdated that will benefit your kitchen and resale value. Another option is choosing from mid-range appliances that are more affordable than high-end options.
