When your clients are interested in purchasing a property to renovate, remodel, or restore, you need to be ready to offer them sound advice. Overly eager buyers can sometimes sink more money into home improvements than they can reasonably recover at time of resale, which can lead to disappointment and potentially even financial hardship. Here are some examples of remodeling mistakes that could possibly end up hurting a property’s resale value:
1. Overbuilding – Room expansions or additions are great as long as the owners keep an eye on comparable square footage value. If most homes in a neighborhood are around 2,000 square feet and a buyer builds an addition that increases the square footage to 4,000 square feet, they may have overbuilt for the neighborhood and not be able to recover their investment.
2. Closing in – In many parts of the country, open floor plans are retaining their popularity. Adding walls to create more rooms or hallways can chop up the layout of a house and make it unappealing to some buyers.
3. Upstairs master – Many buyers, especially aging baby boomers, prefer the master bedroom to be downstairs. If your clients are thinking about adding a master suite, it’s probably a good idea to place it downstairs, if possible, for resale purposes.
4. Incorporating – Walling off patios, porches, garages, and carports to create new rooms is tricky. In some cases, the design can be executed well but if corners are cut the spaces may retain telltale elements of their original function, which can be unattractive.
5. Too bold – Trendy or splashy color choices for finishes that can’t easily be replaced, such as tile, flooring, and bathroom fixtures, can turn off potential home buyers. If your clients want to decorate boldly, suggest they do so with components that future buyers can easily change, such as paint and light fixtures.
6. Cheap materials – While high building costs can certainly make staying within budget a challenge, using inferior materials can hurt the value of a home. Home buyers notice the quality of structural items like roofs, windows, and floors. Encourage owners to always choose the best building materials they can afford.
Another smart way to stay within budget when remodeling you home is have an HSA Home Warranty in place. HSA home warranties provide clients with valuable budget protection, helping to safeguard them from the high costs of covered system and appliance failures. This type of protection can be especially appealing to homeowners who may have stretched their budgets to afford renovations or remodeling. Contact your local HSA Account Executive to find out more.