3 Home Upgrades to Avoid If You’re Reselling

In the world of real estate, just because you upgrade doesn’t mean you’ll see a return on investment.

Making your home more valuable is a worthwhile task, but be sure that the updates you complete are valuable to buyers, not just for you.

3 Home Upgrades That Won’t Help Your Resale Value

Some of these home upgrades to avoid may surprise you. Others are pretty common sense. Learn what they are, then update your home wisely if you want to sell and make a tidy profit.

1. Adding a Swimming Pool

Owning your own swimming pool seems like a perfect luxury. Who wouldn’t want one in their backyard?

Well, a lot of people.

For one, swimming pools take a whole host of maintenance and upkeep, plus all the associated costs (what will your water bill look like after you fill it up?). Buyers who don’t want to deal with that will see a swimming pool as a deal-breaker. The same goes for buyers who may worry about the safety of their young children playing in the backyard.

Plus, getting an in-the-ground swimming pool built is incredibly expensive upfront. You’re highly unlikely to recoup the costs, even if you see a pool as the ultimate upgrade.

2. Getting Too Taste-Specific with Any Finish

Renovating any room in your home, turning it into the space of your dreams must be an instant value-adder. Right?

That depends. If your choices are too taste-specific and personal, they’ll fail to appeal to a wide array of buyers.

For instance, if you install turquoise-colored tile in your bathroom because it’s your favorite color of all time, that’s great for you. The problem is that a bright color in a hard-to-change finish will turn off lots of people who will only see it as a feature they want to replace – and the dollars it will take.

3. Bedroom Conversions

When it comes to house-buying, most people aren’t willing to compromise on the number of bedrooms and bathrooms in their new place.

When buyers expect your home to be comparable to others in the neighborhood or at the same price point (for example, with two bedrooms and two bathrooms), they will not be pleased to discover that you converted the second bedroom into a walk-in closet and dressing room.

When it comes down to it, bedrooms and bathrooms are valuable spaces. Think twice before you get rid of one in favor of a room with a different purpose.

Learn the Home Upgrades to Avoid

If you want to get more value for your home when it’s time to resell, think about the buyer when you renovate.

Adding value is a subjective concept in real estate. What’s valuable to you might not be valuable to the general buyer. Think carefully before pulling the trigger on any of the above updates, and you’ll see better returns when you sell.