Home Improvements That Could Hurt Your Home Value

What Home Improvements Offer Little to No Return

Do you get relocated for work often? Is it possible you could get transferred sometime in the near future? When you move around a lot it’s important not to dump money into a home in the wrong places.

Many homeowners believe that every home improvement they make leads to a higher home value. Unfortunately, this misconception could not be further from the truth.

Even home improvements that are worthwhile take time to recoup the money spent.

You probably don’t want to make a mistake investing money in your home that will be a waste right? Here are twenty home improvements that could bring down your house value. Take a look at this extensive list and see if any of them surprise you.

Here are a few quick examples of home improvements people make all the time thinking it is a good move:

• Pergo flooring – this is one of the worst flooring changes you can make to a home. Most people despise Pergo floors. They regard them as being cheap which they are. Get a Pergo floor wet for any length of time and see what happens. It isn’t pretty! It is an even bigger mistake when adding Pergo to a moderately expensive home.
• Painting woodwork and trim something other than white – this is a big no-no! You are making it likely that a buyer will want to re-paint all the woodwork in your home. Doing so will be very expensive.
• Turning a four bedroom home into a three bedroom home – more often than not this is a mistake. Some people do this because they want three larger bedrooms vs four smaller bedrooms. Homes with four bedrooms sell for more money. This has been shown time and again.
• Adding a swimming pool – unless you live in a warm weather climate where the pool can be used year round it is a mistake. You will not be able to get back the money you spend on a pool. Adding a pool should only be done unless you plan on being in the property for a long time.

Home Improvements That Make Your House Harder to Sell

In the article at Maximum Real Estate Exposure referenced above, you will see sixteen more home improvements that not only have a low return on investment but could make your home a lot harder to sell.

I will give you another perfect example of a so called home improvement that is a real loser – WALLPAPER.

Adding wallpaper to a home is a sure-fire way to date the property and make it less appealing. Raise your hand if you like wallpaper. I don’t see any hands going up.

Wallpaper is highly personal. Few people are going to like you tastes.

When people see wallpaper their first thought will be how much is it going to cost me to get this removed. When buyers start figuring out what it will take to remodel the house the way the want it, the amount they offer you will come down!

Don’t be the next homeowner who makes these kind of home improvement mistakes.