According to leading real estate experts, while some home additions can serve to boost the value of your home on the market, others will cost you greatly but fail to translate into value for your home. Here are seven costly expenditures to avoid if you want to add value to your home.
Turning Your Garage Into a Living Space
“When you’re living in your home, you might be tempted to park the cars in the driveway and turn that garage into a den, office, game room, man cave, or some other special interest space,” said Omer Reiner, licensed realtor and president of FL Cash Home Buyers, LLC. “However, most people want to see a garage as a place to park the car.”
Elizabeth Dodson, a real estate expert, said, “For most buyers, a functional garage is a bigger draw than a specialty room on a lot with parking issues or no parking at all. A home without adequate parking can be a buyer red flag, especially for a multi-vehicle family.”
Adding an ADU to Your Property
Adding an alternative dwelling unit (ADU) can be a good investment, increasing space and square footage in your home, especially if you plan to use it as a rental property. However, an ADU may be a feature that turns away prospective buyers when you’re looking to sell the place.
Dodson points out that, much like with the garage as a living space modification, an ADU can significantly alter vehicle and storage space, and this can prove to be an issue with your listing.
“We have fitness-minded customers who converted a garage into a workout space, which at first sounded like a good move,” she added. “But they struggled with their car situation because if you add shelving or other permanent features, you may create space issues that prevent you from adding a car back into the equation.”
High-End Kitchen Appliances
“Certain kitchen appliances, along with high-end cabinets and flooring, can be a dealbreaker if homebuyers believe they have to pay considerably more for them,” Dodson explained. “We have customers who invest in prestige appliances that don’t translate well to buyers who are more interested in cooking, functionality, and ease of cleanup than brand names.”
Built-In Shelving
According to Dodson, many built-in shelving and entertainment systems serve to actively restrict furniture configuration options, which can be the straw that breaks the camel’s back in dissuading potential buyers from buying your home.
“One of our customers had a built-in microwave that stopped working. Since the model had been discontinued and couldn’t be repaired, they had to disassemble a large part of their cabinetry to replace it,” she said.
Niche Additions
Niche additions like a gym, wine room, or a movie-screening room may feel like essential elements of the house to you, but they are a feature that you’ll want to avoid because they could make it challenging to sell your home. While you may be thoroughly engrossed in your niche addition, others may not feel as strongly about it as you do.
Dodson states that the average cost of adding a home gym is $13,500, so this could be an unwise investment. Instead, keeping the rooms generic allows the new homeowners to better see themselves in the home and customize it for their preferences.
Swimming Pool
Dodson advises against adding a pool, “which some homeowners may see as a negative because of the maintenance involved,” she explains. Pools are known to have significant maintenance demands and could be a dealbreaker for many home buyers who aren’t looking for this added expense.
Landscaping Work
“While spending some time cleaning up your property is expected when selling a home, putting thousands into landscaping stylings won’t help enough to recoup the costs of this approach,” said Al Ruggie, real estate expert and marketing director at ASAP Restoration LLC. “You should mow your lawn, pull some weeds, and tidy up any unruly trees and branches, but you definitely shouldn’t redo the sidewalk, put in hardscaping, add water features, or anything else to this space.”
When you’re trying to sell your house, it’s important to consider how potential buyers will react to various parts of the property. Where you see essential elements that add value to your home—like a converted garage, movie room, or pool—others may not feel the same, and these additions could ultimately decrease rather than increase its value.
