Making Upgrades to Sell your Home? Here are 3 to Avoid

If you’re trying to sell your home and are walking around with clipboard in hand, making a list of all the upgrades you want to make in order to help sell – stop! While making certain upgrades and repairs will help increase the value of your home, others will do the opposite and leave your home sitting on the market for months. Here are three of the most common mistakes homeowners make when upgrading their homes, and why you should avoid them.
Installing a Swimming Pool
While it might be nice to enjoy a swim at your friend’s house on summer weekends, or take a family trip to the public pool, owning one and maintaining one is an entirely different story. When potential homebuyers see a pool, they see two things – a heavy expense, and a potential danger. If you already have a pool installed, make sure it’s in tip-top shape and highlights the advantages of owning one. But if it’s not already there, don’t put one in; it could turn off buyers.
Wall-to-wall Carpeting
The words “wall-to-wall” carpeting used to make real estate agents and potential home buyers clap their hands in glee. Now though people see carpeting and the products used to make it, as a potential health hazard. Wall-to-wall carpeting is also generally seen as a very large expense and something that is hard to maintain. If you’re going to redo your floors, redo them in hardwood; this option is much more attractive to many more homeowners.
Lots and Lots of Landscaping
If your yard is completely trashed with brown spots everywhere and little grass or greenery to speak of, yes, you want to clean it up. But if your yard looks pretty good and it’s got enough curb appeal to keep people interested and get them into the house, you’re doing fine enough when it comes to landscaping. Don’t spend a whole ton of money getting the newest trendy bushes or covering your yard with blooms. It won’t do much to increase the sales value of the home; and if your home is filled with much-needed repairs inside, potential buyers aren’t going to remember being impressed with the yard.
Home repairs and upgrades can cost a lot of money. And while you probably have dozens of ideas for what you want to do with your home, you need to make a list and prioritize, especially if you’re going into debt with a home equity loan to do it. Most importantly, you need to understand what upgrades will add value, and which won’t. It’s the only way to really make sure you’re getting the most from your home renos.