How Can Remodeling Decrease Home Value?

If you plan on selling your home, did you know that remodeling can damage your home’s value? Avoid these mistakes to make sure that doesn’t happen.

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I go into a lot of homes where people are really proud of their remodeling, and they’ve done a great job. However, there are times when you can remodel and actually decrease your home value.

For example, if you paint your home and make it look pretty, that won’t matter if you ignore regular maintenance items. Maybe the roof needs to be replaced. If there are damaged things or things that aren’t working in your home and you just ignore that, that’s no good. People like to see homes that look nice and are modernized, but more importantly, they want to know that everything is functioning and working in your home. Don’t ignore those maintenance items. Take care of those first and then make your home look pretty.

If you have trees on the property that are leaning toward your house or leaning over a neighbor’s property, those are definitely hazards. I wouldn’t spend too much time fixing up your house until you remove that liability.

Another renovation mistake to avoid is spending money on something that’s not normal for your area. Say you are in a neighborhood where no one has a swimming pool and you add one. You may enjoy the pool, but your home is not in line with the norm anymore, which may cause some prospective buyers to stay away from your home and cost you some money.

You can also overdo it when you remodel a home. For example, say you have a $100,000 house and you decide to spend $100,000 remodeling the kitchen. Your kitchen will be gorgeous, but you will never get your money out of that. Your gorgeous kitchen could decrease the home’s value because people will be afraid to make an offer. They’ll be worried about offending you.

When you remodel a home, don’t overdo it.

So, make sure that you are really careful when spending money on your home. Try to stay in line with the homes all around you.

It’s also important to keep in mind that people are really fond of garages in our area. If you need more space and finish in the garage to add a family room or another bedroom, that might be very functional for you. However, you will take away value from your home when it comes time to sell. If there is any way to avoid finishing your garage, I recommend that. In fact, I would tell you to move to a new property and start over with a bigger house before you finish in the garage.

Finally, watch out for cutting-edge style. Maybe you’re into the latest and greatest HGTV ideas, and that’s great. Again, if you step outside of the norm for your area, you may not get all of your money back. If your home is too far on the edge of that cutting-edge style, you may not be able to sell your home at all.

The moral of this story is that any time you plan on doing some remodeling, give us a call. We would be happy to give you some advice on what to do, what to spend money on, and which projects to avoid so you won’t devalue your home.

As always, if you have any other questions about real estate, just give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!