Always Consider Resale Value When You Renovate

Greetings,

Chances are in this market, if you're putting $30,000 into your home, you're not increasing its value by $30,000.  (Unless you're hiding the stacks of cash under the floor boards.)  The truth is, people value different upgrades and different renovations differently.  Are there too many differents in that last sentence?  But, there is a difference between renovating your home to get the most value out of it, and renovating it to fit your own custom needs.  Let's keep in mind here that I have seen a master bedroom with a full bathroom in it.  As in, there was no wall or door separating the two.  You could literally walk out of the shower straight to bed!

© Tomloel | <a href="http://www.stockfreeimages.com/">Stock Free Images</a> & <a href="http://www.dreamstime.com/">Dreamstime Stock Photos</a>

© Tomloel | Stock Free Images 

 Last week I was visiting a broker open house with a couple homes scheduled to be viewed.  One of the homes was a very lovely ranch, in a nice area of the town.  The house was receiving nice compliments, plenty of showings, but no one is stepping up to the table to buy it.  So why isn't it selling?  Unfortunately for these homeowners, they had fallen victim to a classic realty misfortune....  They had overly custom renovated to their liking.

As a REALTOR®, and in general, as a life philosophy, I try to stay away from using the absolute terms such as "always" or "never".  As in, “We’ll NEVER move, this will ALWAYS be our home”.  The fact is for some, this may be true, but for the greater majority, nothing could be further from the truth.  Life has a funny way of making plans for us.  So that job you think you'll retire from, or that perfect house you'll never outgrow, may indeed be just a rest stop along the journey of life.  So when renovating, always consider resale options.

To an extent, people love custom touches.  It not only shows pride in ownership, but also the consideration and planning to elevate the quality of living in your home.  There are indeed some exceptions to every rule.  You will have to expect that some attributes and changes to your home may not be well received to the next occupants.  That's why I've generated some renovation guidelines that I hope may be helpful should a renovation be in your near future.

1. Depending on the scope of the renovation, consider hiring a designer/architect.  They can give you insights on what the latest trends are, but also show you timeless and classic designs that never go out of style and are sure to please you and future occupants for years to come.
2. Remember, while you are keeping resale value in mind, you have to consider that you are indeed doing this for yourselves.  If you can't live with it, what's the point?  
3. And that leads me to this point, that you are indeed doing this for yourselves.  Regardless of how nice the renovation, or how much money you've put into the upgrades, it's virtually impossible (in this market) to recoup 100% of money spent in your renovation.  Just because you like your one of a kind, custom garage with built in shelving and custom peg board storage, doesn't mean it will be well received by future occupants.
4. Before you hire anyone, check references and ask to see the work that they have done.  One can NEVER be too careful who they let into their homes. (I guess there are exceptions to using the word never)
5. And lastly, the more custom a home, the narrower the buyer pool for that home.  Unfortunately, when selling your home, you want to cater to the masses.  You want as many people to be interested in your home as possible.  Over customizing your home, to the point that only a few may like it, definitely hinders the marketability of your home.  

© Orla | Stock Free Images

Now, I'm not saying you shouldn't do whatever you like to your home. You are, of course, the Master of your domain, the Queen of the Castle, or the King of the County.  If you want a giant waterfall in your living room, go for it!  But, should you find yourself not living in that home for the rest of your lives, be prepared to have certain custom touches hurt the resale value of that home, and could even possibly have buyers taking the cost to remove such items, and subtracting it from your listing price.  Remember when I said people love custom touches in their homes, well, that's true.  Theirs! They want their own custom touches, which may not be along the same lines as what's already there.  So with all that in mind, happy renovating, and remember, a hammer can be dangerous in more ways than one!

Best Regards,
MV