14 Home Upgrades That Can Actually Lower the Value of Your House

It’s easy to assume that any home renovations, if done well, will probably increase the value of your home. However, there are quite a few home improvements that can actually hurt your bottom line when it comes time to sell your house. It’s just something to consider when you’re renovating, especially if you don’t plan on living there for decades to come. Here are 14 DIYs that can actually hurt the value of your home.

14) Luxury Bathrooms

Whirlpool tubs, elaborate tile, and other expensive features in a bathroom may not be everyone’s cup of tea. And, that means you won’t always get your money back on investments like these.

13) Fountains and Other Elaborate Landscaping

Installing a fountain or other unique landscaping can be fun, but down the road buyers may look at the niche accoutrements as hurdles to their own vision of a perfect yard.

12) Light Fixtures

Replacing the current light fixtures seems like an easy update and can be really cheap if you happen to find a gorgeous fixture on sale. But, “updating” the lights with ones that don’t fit the style of the house can have a drastic effect for potential buyers. Whether the lights are badly out of date or simply all wrong for the space, most home buyers will take one look and be turned off. All they can see is that they’ll have to spend money to replace them.

11) Textured Walls and Ceilings

It might have seemed like a good way to hide some unevenness in the drywall or even to add interest to a bland space. But, textured surfaces are expensive to replace and look about 40 years out of fashion for most potential home buyers. There’s no substitute for a smooth finish.

10) Wallpaper

As with the above popcorn treatment, wallpaper can be expensive and/or time-consuming to take down or cover up. For that reason many people would rather just not deal with it at all. The one exception to this rule might be if a potential home buyer loves the pattern you’ve chosen. But let’s be realistic: that’s not likely to happen. Customize your space with paint when you can- it will save headaches later on.

9) Splashy Paint Colors

Speaking of paint, don’t expect that the lime green or bright pink paint you did will be a feature to buyers. Paint walls white or grey before showing the house, even if the paint was relatively expensive. In the end it will be heaps cheaper to have a house that sells well.

8) Crazy Flooring

There are times when unique flooring really sells the place, but most of the time people are looking for relatively neutral floors that won’t clash with their belongings. Use a classic flooring and then customize with rugs that suit your taste to avoid having to sell for less or make a lot of last-minute changes to suit the market.

7) Wall-to-wall Carpet

Wood floors are not only classic, but they happen to be very on trend right now. Add to that the growing number of people who have dust mite allergies and the overwhelming preference is for homes that have at least some wood flooring.

6) Home Offices

Rooms that have built-in shelving like home offices, libraries, or craft rooms can take value off a house because the new owners will have to spend money converting the room back into a bedroom. In this case you could be paying for the units twice: once when you purchased them and then again if the home didn’t sell for as much money as you’d hoped.

5) High-end Kitchens

Research shows that many luxury kitchen remodels do not yield that money back in profits from the sale of the house. It doesn’t mean you can’t do it, only that it will probably end up costing you a lot of money.

4) Sunrooms

Considering just how expensive these additions can be and the fact that they won’t add all that value to the home’s sale price, it is best to consider this type of addition very carefully. Also, with so many windows little leaks can add up to big expenses for the next homeowner, which they undoubtedly will take into consideration when making an offer.

3) Luxury Built-ins

Things like home movie theaters and large aquariums that are part of the house are a deterrent to shoppers who aren’t looking for those types of features in a new home.

2) Hot Tubs and Pools

These fixtures are costly to build and maintain and can be a hazard for some buyers who won’t actually use these features. Consider portable versions if you don’t want to have to worry about this come sale time.

1) Converted Garages

Not being to use a space for what it was intended can be a real bummer for most buyers, especially those who want to use the garage for parking.