One of the first things we’ll fuss over before selling our home is improving its value. To achieve that, we’ll spend for upgrades, regarding them as investments, and assuming that the new owners will absolutely love them. However, before making any dramatic changes in your property, doing a little research won’t hurt.
Though the cost of a certain upgrade can be considered in the resale price of your property, it won’t necessarily result in a better overall value. Think about it this way: if you’re moving out of your home, then you’re going to be looking for a new place to live, and you’d most likely choose a home with low upkeep costs. If that’s what you’re after, then chances are your buyers are searching for the same thing.
To further explain this logic, here are some home upgrade examples that will and will not add value to your property:
1. Landscaping: Adds Value
According to research, landscaping can increase your property’s value by up to 77%. It will also significantly boost your curb appeal. Consult or work with a landscape designer, and find out what upgrades will enhance your yard’s charm. They’ll most probably recommend romantic landscape lighting to be installed along the pathways, stairs, and within the shrubs.
If you’re worried about the lights increasing your electricity bills, choose outdoor solar lights, which are available in various forms including string lights, blow glass, and lanterns.
Concrete pavers are another brilliant addition to your landscape. They’re functional, and you can adorn the spaces in between each paver with scotch moss, and fill the sides with succulents.
One thing to note before landscaping, though, is that an extensive remodel may not add value to your property. Building a pond or a Zen garden, for example, may make your landscape more stunning, but the buyers may be put off by the upkeep costs of either. Therefore, stick to low-maintenance landscape features.
2. Swimming Pool: Hurts Value
Unless having pools are a standard in your neighborhood, then building one on your yard won’t improve your property’s value. For one thing, pool maintenance breaks the bank, running as high as $4,000 every year. A buyer who plans the use the home as the go-to venue for their social gatherings may actually like it, but your chances of coming across such a buyer may be low, so better play it safe and leave the yard pool-less.
3. Gym: Adds Value
With so many people suffering from a sedentary lifestyle, converting one room into a gym may excite your buyers. It can raise your property’s value by 44% as well; not a lot, but still, it’s considerably more functional and not as high maintenance as a pool.
A basement is a perfect place for a gym. If it’s possible to build windows in it, do so, and make the space airier and brighter. If you don’t have a basement, then you perhaps have an attic, so use that space for the gym, instead.
4. Extensions: Hurts Value
Extensions such as an extra bedroom or additional story may be more convenient for larger families or extended family members who stay over frequently, but if it makes your home stray farther from the neighborhood’s standards, then it may be bound to go stale in the market.
That’s because a major extension can add up to $100,000 to your property’s resale price. So if that results in your home selling for $350,000, but the average sale price of the other houses around your neighborhood is only $250,000, then buyers will find your price unreasonable.
Now that you’ve been advised on the home upgrades that will and will not add value to your property, you can go easy on the remodel now. The key is to focus on enhancing rather than transforming — leave the latter to your buyers!