Home improvements for increasing property value whether as “flipping” or for your own residence are often misunderstood. Some renovations and improvements can do wonders for creating profits and helping homes to sell faster and for top dollar, while others end up costing homeowners and real estate investors a lot of money.
What are some of the worst home improvement moves being made this year?
1. Screened Enclosures
Replacing broken screens is a good thing and can help curb appeal but building or rebuilding screened enclosures from the ground up isn’t cheap and is unlikely to add anything to the bottom line of your property value. This is especially true when placing a screened enclosure on an outdated home which would probably be torn down by the next round of buyers anyway. Glass enclosures are included here as well. Unfortunately our climate in Kitchener Waterloo makes it hard to enjoy these all year round.
2. Swimming Pools
Swimming pools are neither cheap nor fast to put in. They can add significantly to property value but they can also lengthen the selling process, increasing holding costs and make the home unappealing during construction. If every other home in the neighborhood has a pool, that is one thing, however today many home buyers don’t want the added cost a pool brings.
3. Home Office Remodels
This is a slightly perplexing one on the list when you consider the huge trend in working from home today. However, it could be that some homeowners are spending too much remodeling offices and restricting variety in use, where new buyers may want to have the flexibility in re-structuring these rooms for their own maximum productivity.
4. Poor Color Choices
Anyone redecorating or making home improvements for resale purposes should stick to a neutral palate for maximizing appeal. Do not break out the bright pink paint or hire painters who have trouble differentiating between peach, salmon and off-white.
