One challenge with home improvement projects is how easily you can tell yourself it’s worth the price because it will improve the value of your home. Though this is true for many home improvement projects, it rarely increases the value by as much as the project cost. Some add no value, and a few might reduce the value compared to your home before you did the work.
As we approach the fall and winter months, many people begin thinking more seriously about some home improvement projects. However, according to Jason Brick with Money Crashers, here are 10 you may want to avoid.
1. Adding a Pool or Hot Tub
Important Exception
In a few regions, especially high-end neighborhoods in hot climates where a pool is useful all year long, having a pool is a prerequisite for interest.
2. Going Big in the Bathroom
Important Exceptions
If you already need to redo your bathroom — for example replacing broken plumbing or tearing out a carpet to replace with vinyl or tile — including a general update might cost only a little bit more than the major work.
You likely won’t make a profit on the project as a whole, but you might minimize the net cost with some simple spruce-ups like new light fixtures or an attractive backsplash.
3. Installing a Sunroom Addition
Important Exception
If you really want a sunroom, consider a “three-season room.” This is basically a four-season room with uninsulated walls. These cost about half the price of a four-season room installation. It will likely lose money overall, but it will lose less money than a fully functional sunroom.
4. Building Spaces for Your Hobbies
This category includes a broad array of home improvement projects, including but not limited to:
- Home theaters
- Home offices
- Sewing rooms
- Man caves
- Libraries and studies
- She sheds
- Built-in aquariums
- Home gyms
- Themed kids’ bedrooms
Important Exceptions
This isn’t to say you should never add a hobby room or similar space to your home. Just don’t add permanent fixtures.
Stick to the decor, furniture, and easily removable trappings of what you want the space to be for, so you can return it to its natural, neutral state when you need to sell.
5. Designing the Perfect Kitchen
Important Exception
You can get a significant return by simply upgrading the appliances while keeping them in the same positions nicely situated among the same cabinets and floor. This is especially effective if you buy eco-friendly appliances and cash in for all applicable tax rebates.
6. Replacing the Carpeting
Important Exceptions
Damaged, old, or stained carpets need replacing. Otherwise, you risk losing buyers when they see the unattractive flooring. Alternatively, you can explicitly reduce the home’s price to reflect the need for replacing carpeting, and let the buyer choose a floor when they move in.
7. Expanding or Adding to a Garage
Important Exceptions
“Accessory Dwelling Unit” (ADU) is what the professionals call it when you convert a garage into a separate apartment or build a separate living space as a second story above your garage.
These are far more expensive than a standard garage addition but can end profitable once you factor in both the increased home value and a few years’ worth of rent you might charge for the space.
Also, if your home is the only one on the block with no garage at all, it can benefit your home value to add one. This is also possible if your house has a one-car garage while all the others have two-car garages or larger.
8. Installing High-End Landscaping
Important Exceptions
If your home has the worst landscaping on your block — bad enough to stand out — upgrading to the level of your neighbors can increase your curb appeal enough to be worth the effort.
9. Master Suite Shenanigans
Important Exceptions
Much like with swimming pools and garage expansions, there has been a decades-long trend toward increasingly expansive and luxurious master suites. If your home’s master bedroom suffers by comparison to otherwise similar properties in your area, it can be worth a minor upgrade to make your home more competitive.
10. Preparing for the Apocalypse
Important Exceptions
Off-the-grid homes or high-value homes with security or other vital facilities on site are an exception to this rule. People interested in that kind of property often have more of a survivalist mindset and will expect or at least appreciate a backup generator or emergency water supply.
Final Word
When you’re planning an improvement or remodeling project, you first have to ask yourself a simple question: “Are you remodeling for quality of life while you live there, or to increase the home’s value or resale price?” If it’s the latter, these projects offer too little return on investment to view as a resale value booster. They will result in a net loss from a purely financial perspective.
On the other hand, if you don’t plan to sell for a long time and a project will help you enjoy your home more during those years, there’s nothing wrong with that. Just pencil in the cost to redo that project and make your house more saleable into the budget for the work.
