If you’re preparing your home for the market, there are five upgrades you need to avoid making if you want to sell for top dollar.

Over the years, I’ve seen home sellers do a lot of interesting things to get their homes ready for sale. Making improvements to your home to make it more comfortable for you is one thing, but there are five upgrades you definitely need to avoid if you want to sell your home for the most money possible. 

1. Over-the-top improvements. A few years ago, we sold a property that literally had a golden gate in front of its front door and colonnade leading up to that. While we were eventually able to sell that property, the homeowners did not get their return on investment for those improvements. 

2. Home office improvements. If you need a home office, that’s fine, but we find that it’s better to market a home with an extra bedroom than one that has an office space. 

3. Swimming pools. Here in Northern Virginia, adding a swimming pool to your property won’t give you a good return on your investment. We don’t have the type of climate that prompts homebuyers to look for swimming pools while searching for homes. 

"You want to appeal to buyers’ emotions when selling a home."

4. New roofing. While logic makes you think, emotion makes you act, and I’ve never seen a buyer fall in love with a roof. You want to appeal to buyers’ emotions when selling a home, so if your roof is in a state of disrepair, go ahead and repair it—otherwise, replacing it for the sake of replacing it is not a good investment. 

5. Specialized places. I have a home listed right now whose owners had their crawl space below their basement built specifically to store their firearms. That kind of unique addition is great for the current homeowners but not so great for the home’s resale value. 

If you’d like to talk more about which upgrades to avoid or you have any other real estate questions I can answer, feel free to call or email me anytime. I’d be happy to speak with you. 
 

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