As a home-seller, of course you are looking to get the most money for your home when it sells. Many home-owners will take on a variety to home improvements to make sure the home sells for as much as possible, however, some don't realize that there are a few home improvements that will actually suck money from the value of your home when it gets appraised.
If you are in the process of home-selling, make sure to read on to find out which home improvements will add value to your home and which ones will leave you losing money. By avoiding these particular home improvements, you will ensure that your home keeps its value.
ADDING A POOL
Unless you are selling a high-end luxury home with an extravagant place to swim, a pool will not add any value to your home come selling time. The reason why a pool will decrease the value of your home is due to the fact that there are continual costs associated with having a pool. These include costs for maintenance, heating, and an an increase in insurance costs. Unless money is no issue for the home-buyer, a home with a pool may get over-looked for a home without one, just to save money in the long run.
Adding a pool to your home if you are considering selling is not recommended, especially with the weather we experience here in Canada. A pool is only used for one season each year, making it a non-essential home improvement.
If you are selling your home and it already has a pool, you may want to get estimates to see how much it will cost to remove the pool and landscape the space. While not necessary to remove the pool yourself, you will have the information necessary to provide a potential home-buyer with the facts, should they be uninterested in maintaining the pool.
CHANGING THE AMOUNT OF BEDROOMS IN YOUR HOME
The idea of having a big, beautiful master bedroom by knocking down a wall and merging two rooms into one larger one might sounds like a dream for home-owners, but this is a sure-fire way to lower the value of your home.
When it comes to the appraisal, having 3 bedrooms instead of 4 will automatically reduce the value. A home is appraised by certain features that are present, each with their own weight, and the number of bedrooms does impact what price an appraiser will value a home at. As well, an extra bedroom is usually seen as a boon by potential home-buyers, as many people would prefer to have a room designated as an office or guest room rather than a large master bedroom.
BATHROOMS ARE VALUABLE
Removing a bathroom in order to increase the size of the kitchen, laundry or a bedroom is not a wise choice if you are looking to sell your home. Sure, the extra space in a kitchen, for instance, might be useful, the loss of even just a half-bathroom will negatively affect both the buyer's perception as well as the appraisal value of your home.
Most potential home buyers will appreciate having a bathroom on each floor of the home, as this makes life much more convenient than a few extra square meters of available space in the kitchen. Not having to travel between floors to use the bathroom is definitely something that most home-buyers will be looking for.
As for the appraisal, there is an average increase of 10.5% in a home's value when there is an extra half-bathroom in the home, and an increase of 20% value for a second full bathroom. So if you are considering selling your home, remember to keep in mind the future home-buyers preferences as well as the appraisal value allotted for bathrooms in a home.
NO UNIQUE ADDITIONS
There is no limit to what you can do with your home to make it uniquely your own, but if you hope to sell your home someday, you will want to keep it as traditional as possible. Sure, turning the basement into a casino or the back deck into a tiki bar might be fun for you and your loved ones, but when it comes time to sell the home, the potential buyers will have a hard time imagining what their own belongings will look like once they are put into the space. So if you must make changes to your home for pleasure's sake, make sure the installations are easily removable. That way you can take your oasis with you when you go, and the process of home staging for selling the home will be a much easier process for you.
NON-TRADITIONAL EXTERIOR
If you've been thinking of adding on a landscaping feature which will help you save on water and also makes the outside of your home look well-kept - then that is one thing. But adding fountains, a pond or any other unique features to your yard will not do much for the value of your home, and might even discourage buyers from considering buying your home for themselves.
The same thing goes for the exterior colour of your home. As much as you may have a flare for colour, if you are considering selling your home at some point, do your best to keep the colours fitting with what is happening in the neighbourhood colour scheme. There's a chance that one potential buyer might enjoy a bold colour palate, but it could diminish the interest of other potential buyers, so stick with the status-quo when it comes to the exterior of your Ucluelet home.
Before making any home improvements, please make sure to do your research as to what will be a benefit to your home’s value when it comes time to sell. If you have any more questions about wanting to sell your house so that you can start living in Ukee, please don't hesitate to contact us.
