Some Renovations That Can Hurt Your Home's Resale Value

While most homeowners are well aware that remodeling the kitchen or the bathroom can instantly boost the value of their home, they don't take time to consider all the renovations they have done that are hurting the resale value. Spending a small fortune on an upgrade that you and your family might enjoy could have a huge negative impact when it comes to selling your home. Here are some of the top home renovations that can hurt the resale value of your home:

Adding a New Swimming Pool

The idea of tearing up the yard so the kids can have a pool to swim in all summer is an investment many homeowners make.  It is not unusual to think this can help with resale value as having your own pool is considered a luxury.   Contrary to that belief, the addition of a swimming pool on a property only appeals to a very small section of potential buyers. In almost all circumstances, the money spent on having a swimming pool installed will not provide a return on investment when selling you home. 

For many home buyers, they are not willing to take on the investment and upkeep of a pool.  The loss of the raw space in the backyard is only seen as a negative. The only potential buyers interested in a home with a pool are those with children of a certain age, a very limited buying circle.  It is true that even with children, every family doesn't see the value in a pool. If you must have one, an above-ground pool is an option.  At least with an above-ground pool, it can be taken down for minimal costs and the yard can be restored.  If you decide to take the route of an above ground pool, it's important to remember the costs of putting the yard back to its original condition will be incurred when attempting to put the home on the market.

Converting a Garage to a Gym

One of the things many real estate agents will tell you can sink a deal lightning fast is when the potential buyers discover the homeowners have converting some of the living space. The biggest culprit, transforming the garage into something like a home gym or man cave. To the homeowner, they don't mind leaving the car in the driveway at the expense of having a workout room or place to watch NFL games on Sunday away from the rest of the family.

Future home buyers might not agree with your reason to convert the space, and many walk away from deals for this one reason. If you must convert the garage, do so in a way so that potential buyers can quickly and easily return the location back to a functioning garage. For many people searching for their next home, a garage is an important aspect of a new house.  For many families, the garage acts as the place where will you keep all their holiday decorations, workbench, and vehicle in the inclement weather.  Unable to house their car or store their items, potential buyers simply move on to another listing.

Big Beautiful Messy Trees

One of the things that many homeowners take great pride in is the landscaping around their property. Flowers here, bushes there, can really help transform the location and give it a unique and personal feel. Before you start planting trees, think about selling your home many years from now. Research the type trees you are planting because many of them can have a negative impact on the sale of the house when these trees are fully grown.

Trees that provide shade today, may become trees with leaves and flowers that leave the property a mess a decade from now. If the tree is just an endless source of leaves raining down on the property, it takes away from the appeal of the rest of the landscaping. If you are renovating the yard, try to stay away from sweet gum trees, oak trees, white pine trees, and locust trees. These trees are messy and will instantly decrease the curb appeal of the property years from now. The biggest concern, if the potential buyers wants to have them removed, it is a challenging and costly process. Consider blue spruce trees, crepe myrtles, or a red cedar tree instead.

Stunningly Beautiful Wallpaper

There are countless wallpaper designs that allow the homeowner to instantly transform the appearance of any room in the house. These designs can fall in line with the taste of the homeowner, so everything in the house matches a particular theme. When someone is searching for a new home, they want to imagine their family enjoying every room and making it all their own. Now instead of adding some paint colors to transform the interior, they have to first consider the costly task of removing all that wallpaper first. In addition to wallpaper removal being costly, it is extremely challenging to get off the walls. Some potential buyers see wallpaper as a major headache and might look at other homes for sale that are more move-in ready. The more rooms covered in wallpaper, the less it appeals to the taste of a potential buyer.

Textured Walls and Ceilings

Many homeowners want their interior to stand out from their neighbor's and friend's homes, so they insist on having the ceilings and walls textured to make the rooms completely unique. While the rooms are certainly memorable today, they could be problematic for potential buyers looking to purchase the house years from now. These textured additions are difficult to remove, causing many potential buyers to drop offers just because they need to set aside a bundle of cash to bring the house back to its former glory.

Think twice before transforming any room with textured ceilings or walls because this is a huge investment that will only decrease the value of the home when you want to sell. Real estate agents will tell you how buyers express immediate concern about removing the personalized look and wanting a more neutral decor.

If you considering making any renovations in your home, think twice about how it will impact the resale value, because you could be throwing away money today and well into the future. The short-term gain of customizing your living space could come at the expense of potential buyers not wanting to pony up top dollar because they will need to replace the work that was done.