Real Estate Agents Explain Why You Should Never Invest in These 7 Home Features
According to data from Forbes, the average home renovation costs $41,600, with projects ranging from $1,200 to $82,000 depending on the size of your home and the scope of the work involved. While the goal of investing in a home renovation project is often to increase the value of your property, there are some features that may not be worth the upfront cost when it comes time to sell your property in the future. We will list various house features that buyers aren’t interested in.
Here are seven home features you should never invest in:
Turning Your Garage Into Living Space
“When you’re living in your home, you might be tempted to park the cars in the driveway and turn that garage into a den, office, game room, man cave or some other special interest space,” said Omer Reiner, licensed realtor and president of FL Cash Home Buyers, LLC. “However, most people want to see a garage as a place to park the car.”
While you might think a prospective buyer would like expanded living space, you can’t make this assumption. Based on research from Angi, the average garage remodel can cost you around $18,000 and you could find out that it doesn’t increase your home’s resale value.
Elizabeth Dodson, real estate expert and cofounder of HomeZada said, “For most buyers, a functional garage is a bigger draw than a specialty room on a lot with parking issues or no parking at all. A home without adequate parking can be a buyer red flag, especially for a multi-vehicle family.”
You’ll want to review similar listings in your community before investing in a garage remodeling project because you may find out that many homebuyers are looking for this space for their vehicles.
“Before putting your home on the market, turn the former garage back into a garage and let a buyer determine how they want to use that space,” Reiner said.
Adding an ADU to Your Property
While an alternative dwelling unit (ADU) can be a decent investment if you’re looking to add a rental property to your home, it may be a feature that turns away prospective buyers when you’re ready to sell your place. According to Angi, installing any kind of ADU on your property has an average cost of $180,000 and there are no guarantees that you’ll earn a return on this upfront investment.
Dodson pointed out that that any home features that significantly alters vehicle and storage space can be an issue with your listing. “We have fitness-minded customers who converted a garage into a workout space, which at first sounded like a good move,” she added. “But they struggled with their car situation because if you add shelving or other permanent features, you may create space issues that prevent you from adding a car back into the equation.”
High-End Kitchen Appliances
“Certain kitchen appliances, along with high-end cabinets and flooring, can be a dealbreaker if homebuyers believe they have to pay considerably more for them,” Dodson explained. “We have customers who invest in prestige appliances that don’t translate well to buyers who are more interested in cooking, functionality and ease of cleanup than brand names.”
Recent research from Remodeling Magazine shows that a major kitchen remodeling costs $79,982 and you can recoup only 49.5% of the costs when you sell the home.
Built-In Shelving
Dodson pointed out how certain built-in shelving and entertainment systems can restrict furniture configuration options. “One of our customers had a built-in microwave that stopped working. Since the model had been discontinued and couldn’t be repaired, they had to disassemble a large part of their cabinetry to replace it,” She added.
Buyers may be skeptical about home features like built-in shelving because they could alter their plans and ideal configuration for a room. According to Fixr, solid wood shelving costs around $2,700 and you may be stuck removing it when trying to sell your home.
Niche Additions
Dodson shared that niche additions, — such as gyms, wine rooms, movie-screening rooms, etcetera — are a home feature that you’ll want to avoid because they could make it challenging to sell your home.
Wine rooms and other niche additions can also occupy valuable space, Dodson pointed out. Based on Fixr data, the average cost of adding a home gym is $13,500, so this could be an investment that doesn’t pay off. You should keep niche rooms generic so that buyers can easily configure them as they see fit.
Swimming Pool
“Adding a pool, which some homeowners may see as a negative because of the maintenance involved,” Dodson said. Pools are known to have significant maintenance demands and could be a dealbreaker for many home buyers who aren’t looking for this added expense.
The average cost of installing an inground swimming pool is $65,709, so you may struggle to earn this money back, according to Angi. A pool could also be a safety issue for families with small children.
Landscaping Work
“While spending some time cleaning up your property is expected when selling a home, putting thousands into landscaping stylings won’t help enough to recoup the costs of this approach,” said Al Ruggie, real estate expert and marketing director at ASAP Restoration LLC. “You should mow your lawn, pull some weeds and tidy up any unruly trees and branches, but you definitely shouldn’t redo the sidewalk, put in hardscaping, add water features or anything else to this space.”
A common reason for avoiding investing in this home feature is that people like to make these renovations on their own when purchasing a home. With an average cost of $3,525 for a landscaping project, you could save yourself some money, especially considering that you may never get back the investment in a sale turnover.