When upgrading your home, it’s easy to assume that going all out will automatically add value to your property and make it easier to sell.
However, some upgrades may be offputting for potential buyers.
If you’re planning to stay in your home forever, then you can go ahead with any upgrade you like without worrying too much about what other people might think. However, if you might sell one day, it’s worth considering which upgrades will add value to your potential buyers, not just you.
1. Inconsistent upgrades
If you upgrade your home inconsistently, focusing on some areas and not others, this can make your home appear unfinished to potential buyers rather than a selling point.
For example, spending thousands on a brand new kitchen while your bathroom is still old and dated may make it harder to sell your home.
If you are considering selling your home, it’s a good idea to upgrade your home to the same level throughout. So, in this example, instead of opting for a high-end kitchen, you could choose a lower-spec one and then still have some money left to give the bathroom and the rest of the house some TLC.
2. Swimming pool
You might assume that a swimming pool would be a great selling feature for your home, but that’s not always true.
A swimming pool would be a selling point to a particular type of person who likes to swim regularly. However, for many other people, a pool is seen as an additional maintenance cost and a potential hazard for families with young children.
Even in warm countries like Australia, swimming pool removal has become more commonplace as people opt to use their outdoor space for a lawn or garden instead.
3. Extending beyond the ‘ceiling price’
Home extensions are another project that many people take on under the assumption that it will add value to their home and are later disappointed to discover that it doesn’t.
If you are thinking about an extension, you must understand the ceiling price in your neighborhood. The ceiling price is the maximum house value. Most people won’t want to pay more than this, even if you added an extension that created a significant amount of extra space.
If you’re considering an extension, it’s essential to understand how much value you can reasonably expect to add to your home for the amount of money you will spend. A good realtor can help you with this.
4. Extending one bedroom at the cost of another
It can be tempting to extend your master bedroom to give yourself a luxury walk-in closet or an en-suite bathroom, and if you’re doing those things just for yourself, then great!
However, if you’re hoping to add value to your home, it’s worth bearing in mind that most buyers are primarily concerned with the number of bedrooms a property has. So, if you’re sacrificing a bedroom to extend yours, it might end up detracting from the value of your property.
