HomeHome & DesignHomes › These Are the Best Upgrades for Increasing the Value of Your Home
 
 
 

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There are limitless ways to spend money on your home. Most of them do your home’s value no favors whatsoever. Many people would be better off doing nothing with their home for 30 years than to make the kinds of mistakes that detach the equity from your home’s value and send it packing. Most people have no idea why their home isn’t worth what they expected. It is possible that your pet project makes the list of the worst home improvement projects for your money

If you are doing it primarily for the return on investment, don’t add an office. Thanks to the pandemic, more people are working from home than ever. But that situation might not last. Even if the people interested in your home want an office, you will likely have personalized it to the point that it is the perfect space for you, and much less so for anyone else. 

Don’t set your money on fire by over-personalizing the build. When you sell the home, you want it to be a blank canvas for the buyer’s imagination, not a showcase of yours. It is hard to know which improvements are worth it. Here are a few tips to help you work it out and stay in the profit zone come resale:

Improvements You Can Afford

Some home improvements will impoverish you by the time they are completed. That assumes they even get completed. No contractor can tell exactly what is behind a wall before knocking it down. Once they break into it, they might find mold, lead, or a nest of vipers. Walls that were thought to be safe might end up being support structures, leading to a whole new set of problems. The price can quickly skyrocket. 

You would not be the first person to enter a home improvement project thinking you had it covered, only to find out that you need a quick loan with few questions asked. You can find loans in AZ that fit this description along with fitting your budget and needs. That gives you the confidence to know that if you do get in over your head, there is a safety net for a soft landing. But the best way to avoid needing the safety net is to make sure that you stay well inside your budget. And leave plenty of room at the top of your budget for the overage that happens as often as not.

Take It Outside

You will notice a common theme when searching the most expensive home sales in Phoenix. They all feature the outdoors in a way that extends the living space. One of the best home improvements for building equity is a wooden deck because it gives you more living space. Plus, it is aspirational. 

Everybody wants to spend more time outdoors. It is just that they have a hard time prioritizing their life around that goal. But when they see a big deck or gazebo, they envision having guests to entertain, and ducks to feed, and time to enjoy the good weather that is also within easy reach of broadband. If they can picture themselves enjoying it, they will pay to have it, whether or not they ever use it.

Undefined Space

As already mentioned, personalized spaces are great if you never sell the house. But they are not so great if what you hope to do is make a sale and get some equity out of your home. Instead, create an undefined space that can take on the character and personality of the buyer. Don’t build a family room because the person interested in buying the house might not have a family. Instead, build an all-purpose room that can be used as a game room, or a den, or a place for friends to bunk after a night of raucous partying. Build spaces that allow each individual to imagine what they will do with it. Once a person starts that mental process, they have already bought the house for all intents and purposes. 

When it comes to upgrading your home to tease out the most possible value, there are no guarantees. But as a general rule, only do improvements that are easily in your budget. Build to the outside. And create undefined spaces that trigger the imagination.