By Ehren Caudill
Like most people, your home is probably your haven. It’s where you go to relax and unwind after a long day. It’s where you host family gatherings, have birthday parties, and spend time with your loved ones. And from time to time, we all get that urge to spiff up and improve our home, whether it’s decorating or renovating. Thing is, there might be some improvements that you plan to make that can actually hurt the value of your home.
Sure, it might seem like a great idea to add some additional beams to your family room or turn that extra bedroom into an office. Those types of changes aren’t as permanent as, say, breaking down walls to create an open concept look that might not be popular in a few years from now. So, before you make any major renovations, take some time to do your research. If you decide to sell your home at some point in the future, you might be glad that you did. So, check out these “improvements” that can hurt the value of your home to determine if it’s worth it.
Busy Wallpaper
While we all have different tastes when it comes to our homes, you may want to hold back on busy wallpaper. Wallpaper is one of those things that buyers either really love–or really hate. Plus, it can be painfully difficult to remove, which might make it a dealbreaker for someone interested in buying your home. When showing your home to potential buyers, your wall colors should be neutral, so the buyer is focused on the home– and not the walls.
Knocking Down Walls for a Bigger Bedroom
The idea of combining bedrooms to create a bigger one many be attractive to a young couple or someone living alone, but think twice before grabbing that sledgehammer. Studies suggest that each additional bedroom will raise the value of your home by 15%. So, if you want a bigger bedroom, look for smaller furniture, or go for lighter paint colors for a more spacious feel.
Built in Theatres
As we reach higher levels of success, we often want to personalize our homes more and more. While a built-in home theatre may seem like a cool addition to your home, they make these walls unusable for anything else. This could reduce the number of bedrooms in your home, which is always a big selling point. So, if you must eliminate a bedroom in order to create a home theater, it might not be worth it if you’re planning on selling your home in the near future.
Wall to Wall Carpeting
According to USA Today, 50 percent of buyers are willing to pay more for a home with hardwood floors. This is because carpet is often a sign of damage, since you can never be too sure what’s lurking underneath, whether it’s just a subfloor, or past water damage. The color of carpets can also be unappealing based on the buyer’s personal taste and keeping carpets clean can be a hassle.
Swimming Pools
While many believe pools add value to your home, this is not the case. Many buyers will turn down a home simply because they don’t want to be responsible for pool maintenance. Pools often attract only families with young children, so they end up limiting the number of potential buyers.
If your home has any of the aforementioned items, that’s okay. However, if you’re planning on adding any of them into your home’s decor, try to assess if it’s going to be worth it in the long run. That way, you won’t have to worry about redoing any of it before you put your home on the market.
