It is every homeowner’s duty is to take care of their residence. Improving the space where we relax and enjoy makes living comfortable. In the long run, proper maintenance will reduce serious structural damages to your property. However, it is also important to note that the different areas in your house have different scheduled fixes. For example, plumbing, ovens, heating systems, smoke detectors, and the likes should be checked monthly; the garden and refrigerator every four months; the roof every six months, and most of all, electrical wiring, to avoid electricity overload. If you also have generators or Emergency Power Systems (EPS), you should know how to take care of those too.
If you are making home improvements with the intention of increasing your home’s value in the market, you must understand that not every renovation will increase its worth. So, here are 7 things that you think add value to your home, but in reality, they don’t.
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Swimming Pool
A lot of people think that having a swimming pool in their backyards automatically upgrades the value of their homes. However, buyers view this as dangerous, expensive to maintain; and a lawsuit waiting to happen. Families with young children can treat the swimming pool as a hazard and may choose not to buy the property. Other buyers would either want you to dismantle an aboveground pool or fill in an in-ground pool.
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New Furnace
A well-maintained furnace is going to last approximately 25 years or more. If you feel like your furnace is going to the end of its life, you need to fix it for you and your family’s comfort. But if you are looking for ways to increase the worth of your property, this might not be the best financial investment for you. It’s unlikely that replacing your furnace will raise your home’s value. But then again, doing that can provide your family comfort. An out-of-date furnace will have to be fixed as part of the inspection report, if you fail to do so, buyers might not make any offers for your home – or worse, lower the price and look elsewhere.
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Over-the-top Carpeting
Real estate listings nowadays still include the feature that the home is newly carpeted as a selling point. But if your buyers see that you have exaggerated the way you put carpet in your home, it might make them think twice. Carpeting is expensive and costly to install. In addition to this, there is a growing concern about the health hazard that carpets can cause. Chemicals are used in its production and it is well-known for trapping allergens that can affect children easily. And the probability of the style and color you chose not being liked by the buyer is also another problem.
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Unnoticeable Improvements
These are the costly projects you make for your house that nobody would notice. These invisible improvements can be a new plumbing system or heating, venting, and air conditioning unit. These are necessary but don’t really return the costs once it’s time to sell. Buyers expect these things to be in good working order and will definitely not pay extra just because you recently installed new ones. These are a part of your regular maintenance, not an investment for your home’s value.
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Inconsistent Upgrades
If you want to upgrade a room in your home, the change must be consistent in everything. Putting different styles of appliances in your kitchen or imported tiles in entryways may do a little to increase your property’s worth. The remodel must be done in the whole house for it to fetch a high-end return. Other upgrades like media rooms with specialized audio, visual or gaming equipment can be appealing to some prospective buyers but many would not consider paying extra just because of these additional features.
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Extensive Landscaping
A beautiful yard may invite potential buyers in to take a closer look at the property, but this will not add to the selling price. If a buyer does not necessarily want to continue your hobby of taking care of your lawn, they might see this as a burden, or they might think that they need to pay a qualified gardener to take charge. Either way, a lot of prospective buyers view complicated landscaping as an eyesore, so, they will not likely consider it when placing a value for your home.
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Overbuilding
Homeowners tend to think that to increase the value of their homes, they need to overbuild. This leads to their estate falling outside the norm that their neighborhood belongs in. A large and expensive remodel such as adding a second floor, two more bedrooms, and a full bath makes the home appealing but will not add a significant amount to your resale value. The way you remodel should be based on where you live in. A buyer wouldn’t pay a hundred thousand more to a neighborhood where houses are valued at less than a hundred thousand.
