When it comes to adding value to your property, one of the best ways to do this is through home improvements. As home improvements can be a big investment, both in terms of money and time, it’s important you make the right decisions in terms of what you wish to improve, and to what extent.
This begs the question, what are the home improvements you should be avoiding? Are there any ‘improvements’ that will not add to or decrease the value of your property? Are there things that turn homebuyers away?
In this article, we look at the home improvements you should steer clear of, whether it be because they won’t add any value to your home or because they may make it more unattractive in the eyes of homebuyers.
Flooring
The type of flooring you have in your home is usually subject to personal preference. Having a wooden floor will not appeal to someone who prefers carpet and vice versa. It can therefore mean that redoing your flooring will not boost the value of your property in any way and may even cost you if you’re looking to sell up.
Extending a room and losing a bedroom
It may seem like a good idea to knock through a wall in order to create a larger space, especially if you don’t often use one of the rooms. However, if the knocking through involves losing a bedroom, this may only serve to decrease the value of your home.
While larger, more open feeling spaces are popular, reducing the number of bedrooms will reduce the number of potential buyers interested in your property, especially families. Many people will instead prefer having the separate room, so you should think carefully before undertaking any work like this.
Landscaping a garden
Depending on the size of your garden, having it professionally landscaped will cost a lot of money and not add that much to the value of your home. While you will get value out of it yourself, if you are looking to sell in the next several years it’s likely you will lose money by doing this.
While the garden is an important feature for many buyers, most are more concerned with the house itself.
Putting up expensive wallpaper
Wallpaper is one of those things that people either love or hate. Patterned wallpaper especially is known to divide opinion and people’s tastes differ greatly. It’s therefore best to avoid this if you think it’s likely you’ll need to sell in the future as chances are that buyers will not agree with your taste in wallpaper and will want to change it.
Turning a room into a media room/home cinema
While this may be a dream for some, converting a room or garage into a media room dedicated to watching films or playing video games will not appeal to most buyers, who will want a more practical space.
Having built-in systems, such as a large screen, projector or sound system will make it even harder for new owners to do their own thing with the room and will mean they will have to fork out a lot of money to do so.
Doing this will also be expensive and will likely decrease the value of your home unless you own a mansion with plenty of excess rooms.
Installing a swimming pool
A swimming pool will always be a standout feature for any property and will distinguish your home from the rest. However, installing a swimming pool will cost upwards of £60,000 and require year-round maintenance.
Although it will add value to your home and make it more desirable among buyers, it is unlikely that you will receive a return on your investment.
In addition, certain buyers will be put off by a swimming pool. Some will not want the hassle of the upkeep and with the climate in the UK, many will see it as a pointless feature that will only get used a handful of days out of the whole year.
This article was written by an online estate agent House Sales Direct. If you wish to sell your house fast and for free, then head over to the House Sales Direct website for more property related information and enquiries.
