Here are 5 home upgrades that are NOT WORTH the investment if you’re going to be selling your home soon!! Just skip them. Save your money. Go on a trip. Do something else. Anything else.
I get homeowners asking me all the time – “Emily, if I make this upgrade to my house, how much will it increase the value of my home when I go to sell?” And I’m glad that they ask me because not all home upgrades are worth investing in if you’re going to sell in the next year or two.
Now – if you are not going to sell anytime soon, then I usually say “Do whatever upgrades you want, but know that you are doing them for YOU, for your quality of life, and your enjoyment”. But if you think you might be selling in the next couple years, these are the upgrades that you should not bother spending on:
I also have a blog on Home Upgrades that ARE WORTH the investment before selling, so be sure to check that out as well.
If you’re new to my website, I’m Emily Berdon, your Thousand Oaks and Westlake Village Realtor, here with more info to help you avoid a lot of common seller mistakes. If you’re thinking about selling your Thousand Oaks area home, reach out so I can give you my specific recommendations on what you need to do in order to sell your home quickly and for the most money possible in today’s market.
#1 Putting in a Pool
This one is such a no-brainer. Here in the Thousand Oaks area, it will cost you probably a minimum of $150K to put in a decent pool. And while it’s a nice thing to use while enjoying the socal sunny weather, having a pool only really increases the value of your home by $40-$60K on average. Not only that, but some buyers DON’T want pools. They’re expensive to maintain, and buyers with young children will likely have to put up a safety fence, and those are ugly!!
And if the lot size is not substantial, the pool usually eats up the whole yard. There’s nothing worse than opening the back slider and practically falling into the pool.
If you’re going to put in a pool, know that you’re making the investment for you and your enjoyment, not necessarily for future re-sale.
Now, to be perfectly clear, I am NOT anti-pool. I love pools. I’m actually putting one in myself… BUT I’m also not planning to sell my home for many years, so for me, the investment will pay off in my family’s enjoyment of the pool.
#2 Solar
Solar has become a very popular upgrade in Southern California. And it totally makes sense to get solar, but not if you’re planning to sell soon. Solar is a nice modern feature that buyers love, but it doesn’t always get you a better price.
First of all, a lot of buyers are kind of confused about solar and the benefits of it can be lost on them. Also, for the solar to be an asset it needs to be fully paid off (or get paid off through escrow). If you have a leased system or you’ve financed the system and want your buyer to assume the loan, this is not an asset to the buyer – it’s actually seen as a liability and can be off-putting. The buyer will have to qualify for 2 different elements: the mortgage + the solar loan or lease. ALSO – the amount you paid for the solar is going to be more than the value it will add to your home. Solar can cost $30-$60K, but an appraiser will only give about $10K in value for the addition of solar.
Again, if you’re going to be in the home for a while, go ahead and invest in the solar, but if you are selling soon, skip it.
#3 Kitchen & Bathroom Remodel
Alright the 3rd upgrade you can just go ahead and skip is a Kitchen or Bathroom remodel. I know I know I know. You’re going “Emily, I heard that kitchens and bathrooms have the highest ROI”. Yes, that’s true. But you’re most likely not going to get a bigger ROI vs your spend. Not to mention the hassle of remodeling.
Kitchens and Bathrooms are incredibly expensive to remodel and if you try and do it cheap… buyers will know it and trust me, they will not be having it! You could really end up getting yourself in the hole on that one, so instead of spending all that money on a remodel, consider just lowering the price of your home to reflect the condition of your kitchen and bathrooms.
Now, I will give 1 caveat which is that sometimes – SOMETIMES – you can get away with painting the cabinets, replacing the countertops, and giving the kitchen or bathroom a “refresh”. For me to tell you if it’s worth doing a refresh, I’d really need to see your home and look at some other homes in the neighborhood that have sold. So a “refresh” is a maybe, but you really need to lean on your Realtor on this one, to determine if it’s worth it.
#4 Floors
The 4th thing you should skip is replacing Flooring … maybe. Don’t hate me, but this one is on my DON’T list AND on my DO list. Again, it depends, and your Realtor should guide you on this decision.
It depends on what the condition of your current flooring is. If you have stained, ratty carpet, I would say yes definitely, let’s replace the carpet. If your home has tile floors throughout – tile floors are not on trend, but they’re extremely costly to demo, so consider just staging the space with some nice area rugs that draw your eye away from the tile.
Now if you have multiple types of flooring in different sections of the house … well, it could be an issue for buyers. OK so with flooring – it’s a maybe – talk to your Realtor – price out the flooring swap and ask your Realtor if they think it would make a big enough difference in the price you’ll get. But just know that once you replace the flooring, your walls and baseboards are suddenly going to look dingy and you’ll need to paint. It’s a snowball effect.
One other thing I want to say about flooring: LVP flooring or Luxury Vinyl Plank – that fake wood but wood-looking floor: they were popular for a while, but buyers are kind of over them. They look and feel like plastic underfoot. They are definitely losing popularity with people wanting to invest in higher quality floors. So I would advise against putting those in before selling your home.
#5 ADU
The 5th upgrade you should skip is adding an ADU! ADU’s are becoming incredibly popular in the Thousand Oaks area. A lot of people want ADU’s or space to put in an ADU. BUT if you’re going to be selling in the next couple years, skip it.
First of all, the only way an ADU truly adds value to your home is if it’s permitted. The permitting process can be sloooooooooow and costly. I know from experience, I’m still waiting on my ADU permit almost a year later. And ADU’s are not cheap – you’re probably looking at a minimum of $150K for a free-standing structure, and that’s for a fairly small one. But here’s the thing, if your property has ROOM for an ADU, that is a big selling point to a lot of buyers. So as long as you have room for an ADU, make sure your agent markets the home as such, and you should be good.
Another thing many homeowners are doing is converting their garage to an ADU. Nope. Skip. A lot of buyers want their garage for parking their car and storage, so by eliminating that possibility, you might eliminate them as your buyers. Food for thought!
In closing…
If you’re considering selling your home and wondering which upgrades you SHOULD DO before selling, check out this video.
And if you are selling a home in or around the Thousand Oaks area, I would be happy to give you my specific recommendations on which upgrades would be worth it for your home. Reach out anytime.
emily(at)emilyberdon(dotted)comCALBRE #02166248
Keller Williams Westlake Village