If you’re going to sell your house in the near future, you’ll want to make sure that you get a good sum for it. This is what most homeowners have in mind when they splurge in a wide diversity of renovations. Every repaint, addition, and installation feel like they’re going to get you a better deal, and buyers will surely fight over your house once you put it on the market.
Sadly, this isn’t always the case. There’s a huge chance that the renovations you want to perform will do you more harm than good. Increasing your home’s resale value isn’t as straightforward as you might think, after all. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be complicated either. By avoiding these four common renovation mistakes, you can make more meaningful improvements that will take you one step closer to your goal.
Neglecting Practical Improvements
This might be the biggest blunder homeowners make nowadays. In an effort to transform their house into something fancy, they miss the opportunity to invest in practical improvements. By practical, it means anything that enhances your house’s structural integrity and current functions.
Before you drive around Utah in search of new countertops and floor tiles, go back to the basics first. Think electrical system, plumbing, landscape maintenance, and gutter cleaning services. There are many reliable contractors you can reach out to for repairs, replacements, and installations that will make your home safer in the long run.
Prioritizing these also ensures that it can remain in a good condition for years, which is more important for buyers. Just put yourself in their shoes for a moment. Would you buy a house with a fancy bathroom and terrible plumbing?
Overdoing Bathroom and Kitchen Renovations
It’s true that bathrooms and kitchens can influence a sale, but not as much as you think. There’s no need to flush your grand ideas down the toilet, though. Just put them on hold in lieu of more important renovations. There are three in particular that you’ll want to focus on, namely your garage door, entry door, and attic insulation. You’ll notice that they focus more on function than aesthetics simply because that’s where the true value is.
A high-quality garage door provides a better sense of safety, and so does an entry door that’s made of steel or other sturdy materials. Attic insulation has loads of benefits. It enables you to maximize your HVAC system by preventing inside air from leaving and outside air from entering. This, in turn, keeps the temperature in your home regulated and prevents your electricity bill from skyrocketing.
Wallpapering and Carpeting
Wallpapers and carpets provide value when done in the right amount. Otherwise, they bring in a lot of inconveniences that prove detrimental to your sale.
The simple is reason: they’re too much work. Wallpapers will eventually need to be replaced, and so will carpets. Doing so requires tedious labor, and this increases the maintenance costs of your buyers. This is especially true if your wallpapers and carpets are made of special materials that warrant the use of expensive products to clean.
The smart choices are therefore the traditional ones. Paint and hardwood. Splash your walls and ceilings with neutral colors that your buyers can work with when they move in. Replace your carpet with hardwood for easier and cheaper maintenance. You’ll see the difference once you finally put your house on sale.
Doing It Yourself
DIY renovations are empowering, but just because you can live with your handiwork, doesn’t mean your buyer will. It’s best to leave this to the experts unless you’re especially skilled and experienced in this field.
There are many reasons why DIY can detract from your home’s resale value. Setting aside the likely substandard aesthetic, there are also concerns about safety and reliability. Anything that involves electricity could make buyers paranoid about potential fire hazards. What if the DIY changes you made interferes with future renovations they want to be made by professionals? Because you freely meddled with your house’s original configuration, the costs could increase for whatever upgrade they plan to make.
Save yourself the heartache and hire a contractor to do the work for you.
It doesn’t have to be grand and expensive. You’ll be surprised at how going for simpler and more practical renovations can significantly increase your home’s resale value. The investment you’ll make won’t be as big, and there’s a lesser risk of going into debt because of it, too. Best of all, you’ll be able to sell your house more quickly and at a satisfactory sum.
