When considering upgrades and improvements to your Glendale, AZ home, most people think of the cost as an investment that will reap rewards in the future resale value of their home. According to a recent survey of home appraisors, not all such investments pay off though. You need to carefully consider some projects and decide whether they will actually add value or simply narrow the market appeal of your home.
Here are 5 home improvements projects that will not add resale value to your property:
1. Themed Bedrooms
It may seem like a good idea to turn your child's bedroom into an Alice in Wonderland playroom complete with tree house and novelty furniture, but it is unlikely that you will even get your money back for the considerable expense. Not only will your child outgrow either the theme or the fad in a very short time, it can also be very off-putting to potential home buyers.
They may not be able to see beyond the bright colors and space-reducing features to imagine the spacious guest room they are looking for. They may view the potential cost of removing the built-in furnishing as a job too many. Keep walls neutral, furnishings moveable and stick to bedding if you want to introduce a theme to any bedroom.
2. Over-The-Top Landscaping
You may admire your neighbor's beautifully landscaped yard, but most homebuyers view a model garden as a commitment to a lot of hard work, expense and maintenance. By all means give the front of your home "curb-appeal", but use slow-growing flowering shrubs and attractive lawned areas to present it as easy to maintain.
For many home buyers with a busy lifestyle, overdone landscaping screams high maintenance. If you are redesigning your yard, desert landscaping is a good choice as it needs little watering, keeps weeds at bay and needs no mowing - the perfect compromise between low maintenance and good looks.
3. Wall-to-Wall Carpeting
While a new carpet may brighten a bedroom or give a fresh new look to a living space, wall-to-wall carpeting is apparently not preferred by modern home buyers. Carpet in bathrooms and kitchens is definitely a no-no. Most home buyers prefer tiles or hardwood floors in most rooms and even go as far as listing them as a must-have.
Although more expensive than carpet, hardwood flooring will not only improve the chance of a quick sale, it will also add value as buyers see it as a job they will not have to do themselves.
4. Adding a Pool
While a pool may add a wow factor to a home (and seem like a necessity in the Arizona summers), it rarely adds its true worth to the resale value of the property. The cost of installing a pool and the associated landscaping surrounding it may add up to far more than the increase in your home's resale value.
Some families with young children may consider a pool as a safety risk and others may be fearful of the running costs. If you want to add a pool, do it for your own pleasure, but never as an investment.
5. Home Automation
Gadgets and gizmos to control your window blinds, home entertainment system etc. may save time and energy in the long run, but they rarely add value to a home. Unless you are marketing an innovative futuristic home, it is generally best to avoid too much automation which buyers view as tricky to run and unreliable (even if they're not).
The secret to adding value to a property is to invest in projects that give a potential buyer exactly what they are looking for – nothing more and nothing less. Considering making some improvements to your Glendale home prior to selling? Give me a call and I’d be happy to share my thoughts with you.
Loving Phoenix Team – Cheryl Daly, Associate Broker at Realty One Group
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