Common Home Renos That Can Lower Your House Value

You would automatically think that a home renovation will increase the market value of the house. Updating a home is always a good thing but the most common mistake people do is to put their preferences into the selection rather than the tastes of the potential future owner.

When it’s time for the homeowner to sell their house, it's a misconception that a home which has had a massive renovation with all the bells and whistles would garner a higher price. Most of the time, the bells and whistles have little or no value to the future buyer no matter how much it cost to the homeowner thus decreasing the home's value in relation to the money spent. To avoid this you can follow the KISS rule of "Keep It Simple, Stupid" when it comes to home renovations. It might save you a lot of money and headaches.

Here are 10 common renovations that can lower your house value:

1. UNIQUE TILING: Try to go neutral with the tiles because they are hard to rip up and replace. People automatically think about the high expense of replacing tiles. Personalise the space with a unique rug instead.

2. CARPETING: Remember this fact, 54% of homebuyers are willing to pay more for timber floors. If you have the opportunity to replace carpet with timber flooring in the main living areas, it's worth the expense. Carpet colours and styles tend to be based on personal preference.

3. HIGH END KITCHEN:Kitchens are high value items but avoid over spending with all the bells and whistles. Focus on the visual items that people see and not in the internal components.  A recent study showed that people spent an average of $60,000 on their kitchen renovation but only got a $38,000 return.

4. LUXURY BATHROOMS:Same rules apply as the kitchen. Do just enough for what people are looking for. For example a soaker tub is a luxury, an air jet tub is extravagant.

5. CONVERTING BEDROOM TO A HOME OFFICE:Unless you have more bedrooms than you will ever need, a bedroom will trump a home office in perceived value anytime. Just use office furniture that can be moved out and convert back into a bedroom. Avoid built ins. A bedroom is worth 10% more to the home value than an office.

6. COMBINING BEDROOMS:Tread carefully when combining bedrooms that are next to each other into a massive bedroom. It's a numbers game when it comes to number of bedrooms at resale.

7. SWIMMING POOLS:It is a misconception that swimming pools increase a home's value. Most potential buyers see them as a safety hazard for children and high maintenance.

8. FANCY LIGHT FIXTURES:Dramatic lighting can fire back on you if it turns off potential buyers. If the light fixtures don't match the style of the home, it is less appealing.

9. WALLPAPER:Wallpaper is such a personal choice and notoriously difficult to remove. Consider painting the wall a different colour for that pop.

10. BOLD PAINT:Bold paint colours are subjective. The good side is that people can resolve it in their minds as an easy and low cost fix so the effect on home price is nominal.