Home Improvements to Avoid When Selling Your House - 7 Deadly Sins

According to the article "Home Improvements to Avoid When Selling Your House" by Amy Hoak From The Wall Street Journal Online - Click here for full article : "Homeowners hear a lot about improvements that might add value to houses. But less attention is paid to what to avoid." Steer clear of renovations that will cost you money at resale time. Avoid these seven deadly sins of remodeling if you want an edge over other home sellers in an iffy market. 1. Overexpanding : Trying to keep up with the Joneses is fine, but don't keep outdoing neighbors with additions unless you plan to stay put a long time. A home that becomes conspicuously larger -- and more expensive -- than those around it will risk becoming hard to sell, Mrs. Slaughter says. 2. Making your home into something it's not : Don't change the general architecture of the home, and make sure that renovations match. Changes that are obviously inconsistent with the home's style will limit the number of people interested in buying it, says Michael Nagel, vice chairman of the National Association of Home Builders' Remodelors Council. 3. Changing a room's function: Completely altering the purpose of a room is risky. Keep kitchens as kitchens, and bathrooms as bathrooms. They were built that way for a reason. "We all expect basic functionality," Mrs. Slaughter says. "If you start changing the basic items that you expect out of your home, you're really customizing it for yourself." 4. Doing it yourself -- when you shouldn't : Be extremely confident you're capable of taking on a project before trying to do it yourself. "I wouldn't try and fix my own car; why would someone want to fix their own house?" says Mr. Nagel, who often sees sloppy tile jobs done by amateurs. 5. Underbudgeting: Don't underestimate how much projects will cost. Expenses usually are added, not subtracted. Homeowners routinely go 20% to 30% over budget, Mrs. Slaughter says. "People not only underbudget from a monetary point, but they also underbudget time," she says. A prospective buyer walking through a home isn't going to see the glass as half full when a project is half done. 6. Making unneeded renovations: When remodeling for resale, don't waste time with renovations that won't pay off. Proceed first with projects that are going to have the highest rate of return, experts advise. In the last four annual editions, the National Association of Realtors/ Remodeling magazine study has identified four renovations that show the greatest return at resale: improvements to siding, windows, kitchens and bathrooms. 7. Neglecting maintenance: Proper maintenance and annual upkeep may be the most important improvements of all. Clean the gutters to protect the exterior from water damage. Trim shrubs. Check for termites. Keep track of annual checkups -- and use that as a selling point. Annual maintenance pays back handsomely when you sell. And before the house goes up for sale, experts recommend a fresh coat of paint. If you enjoyed this post, subscribe and get FREE updates! Appraisal , Real Estate , Appraiser , Marketing