Are You Spending Your Rehab Dollars on the Wrong Improvements?

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With so much going on throughout the economic world, each day is becoming more unpredictable. People who have an inclination to fix up their homes are thinking more about making their lives easier than in boosting the selling price. The problem is that not everything you are thinking of doing will add that feeling of luxury or satisfaction.

Many renovations can be awkward and costly, or merely end up never being used, while you’re still paying off that second mortgage. And countless others will be destined for obscurity like the wet bars, saunas, and intercom systems of thirty years ago.

After talking to many home sellers, remodeling contractors, and interior designers, we put together a list of the most sought after remodeling jobs asked for today. Try to remember this list is subjective, but it does cover a wide spectrum of input sources.

Here is a list of what not to do and they are in no particular order.

1. Master Bedroom Deck. Do you know people with this? You might think of this as a luxury, but you’re not on vacation in a Villa. You’re home. Yes, it’s great to think about breakfast outside with the views and all that, but do you know anyone who actually does this? Your master bedroom is usually on the opposite side of the house from your kitchen. Do you really want to run down, make breakfast, and bring it back to your bedroom deck? And this can be a $15,000 project, plus lifetime maintenance; definitely not getting it back at sale time. Maybe a breakfast nook off the kitchen is a better idea.

2. Whirlpool Tubs. Although these have been synonymous with the high life in years past, people are becoming more practical. Who has the time to relax in one of these or the money for what it costs to fill it and keep it warm? Put your cash where it will mean something, like walk-in showers with multiple heads or separate rooms for the commode. This is truly one expense you will never recapture in your resale. And something you will probably never even use.

3. Hot Tubs. Once considered a backyard sanctuary because they gave you a place to relax that was cheaper to install than a pool. If you had one, you soon found out that repairs, maintenance, and energy costs heavily outweighed the benefits. Plus depending upon where you live, the season is short and many people feel less safe, bio-medically. Today you’ll want to add an outdoor room with the addition of a deck or patio with an outdoor kitchen.

4. Ornate Kitchens. For some reason, most American kitchens look like they’re from another time. People must feel that their big homes must have big everything else. They will install vintage looking, ornate cabinets and hardware, and decorate with an Italian Villa style tile. People will pawn their lives to be surrounded by a $150,000 of polished stonework, French cabinetry, and imported tile. In contrast, European kitchens are sleek and efficient. Upscale kitchens average $110,000 and return only 63% when the home sells.

5. Marble Counter tops. Yes, marble is a lavish material, long favored in upscale kitchens and baths, but it’s losing its place as a number one choice. Due to its porosity, it requires more maintenance, will scratch more easily than other surfaces, will show burns from hot pots, stains easily, and emits radon. All porous counter tops like granite, limestone, and poured concrete depend heavily on the installation quality of the cabinets below them, as shifting over time will break these surfaces. Man-made quartz and other non-porous surfaces are a better choice and much less expensive.

6. Additions. A new family room, a sun-room, or an expanded kitchen built from the ground up are expensive and only recoup about 65% of their cost at sale time. To get the extra room necessary to make your family comfortable, think underutilized space. Can you finish your basement? Can you take out walls and rearrange your existing floor area to a more open design? Do you have unused attic space that might be converted into bedrooms? Is it possible to add a second level to you existing home, rather than look for a larger home? Do you really need a dining room? There are many ways to change your existing home inexpensively, than to change where you live.

7. Home Theaters. Just as dinosaurs have become extinct, so is the home theater. Single purpose rooms are a bid expense, considering the small amount of recreational time anyone has today. Do you really need the cinema seating, icky red carpeting, pop-down projector, and big screen? There are many pre-packaged systems today with surround-sound speakers, booming bass, amplifiers, media centers and other controls costing you less than $4,000, that will turn any big screen TV in any rec-room into a home theater. Plus, like a swimming pool, how many buyers are really interested in this?

8. Home Automation. I like home automation to a degree. Turn on my lights when I come in the driveway, shut off the lights I forgot when I go to bed. But the very sophisticated, costly systems are difficult to operate and expensive to maintain. And beyond the cost, obsolescence is another consideration. All electronic components are improved about every eighteen months. Do you really want to keep trying to keep up? Especially in today’s economy.

So before you do too much in the way of improving your home, think realistically about where the market will be when you sell. If you’re committed to living in your home for many years to come, and you honestly want these amenities for your family, then go for it. But if you’re thinking of making these improvements to increase your resale value, get some good advice first.