Many homeowners believe the money they spend on home improvements will always make their property worth more. There are plenty of projects that will do exactly that, enhancing your enjoyment of your home and making it more valuable. However, there are renovations and remodels that can work against you when you’re ready to sell and may actually make your home less desirable.

Outbuilding the Neighborhood

Building an addition to your home could make it more appealing, but avoid turning your house into the most expensive one on the block. If your addition is a large, expensive project, such as adding multiple bedrooms and a bathroom, the cost could price you too far above the neighborhood’s average homes. Potential buyers looking for a $200,000 home will likely look in $200,000 neighborhoods. Your $375,000 house will be overlooked by buyers in your price range and ignored by the others. You’ll find the money you spent on your addition difficult to recoup.

Installing Luxury Room Renovations

• High-End Kitchens – Gutting the kitchen and installing a high-end remodel is a very expensive project. Many people save up for their dream kitchen though, and pay five or six figures to get it. The addition to your home’s resale value will always be less than the price of the kitchen upgrade. Instead of a completely new kitchen, replace the parts that are worn or outdated and choose mid-priced appliances instead of the most pricey ones.
• Bathrooms – Bathrooms renovations can be a great way to add value to your home. Just try to choose upgrades that will appeal to a wide variety of tastes. Fireplaces, waterfall showers, or deep soaker tubs probably shouldn’t be on your list. Whirlpool baths are not as popular as they have been in the past. If you have a tub in another bathroom in the house, consider a large walk-in shower for the master.
• Sunroom – The Remodeling website’s statistics show that adding a sunroom to your house gives very little return on your investment. It is another high dollar remodel and has the most appeal only in areas with warm weather year round. A sunroom has far less value in the Midwest and Northern states and, unless it is heated, it doesn’t count when calculating your home’s square footage.

Overdoing the “Personal Touch”

There are a lot of decorating choices that help make a home reflect your personality. Just be aware that some of these changes might need to be neutralized before you put your home on the market. Too much wallpaper or brilliantly colored paint can make buyers move on to the next home on their list. Painting wooden trim any color other than white won’t appeal to the majority of buyers. Lavish light fixtures are another possible turn-off. So are rooms with themes, such as a jungle family room or a fairy tale bedroom. If you can’t live without any of these things, go ahead and invest in them during your years in the home. But, plan to make changes when you are ready to sell and do not expect to get your money back for the expense.

Making Unwise Flooring Choices

Buyers used to want carpeting throughout a home, but current trends favor hard floors. Installing hardwood floors can increase the value of your home. Save the carpet for bedrooms, maybe, but don’t put it in other areas. Also, most people are looking for quality hardwood floors that will look beautiful for decades. They think most laminate flooring looks cheap, so it can bring down your home’s value. Choice of tiles for a floor should be thoughtfully considered, too. Something that is funky-fun to you can send potential buyers right out the door. Think “mainstream” when you choose the tile.

Reducing the Number of Bedrooms and Closets

More bedrooms are better than fewer for most buyers. If you want to combine two smaller bedrooms into one master suite, it could change the comparable value of your home with the rest of the neighborhood. If everyone else has three bedrooms and you now have only two, that’s a problem. Watch out, too, for redoing a small bedroom into a large walk-in closet. People with families want the bedrooms.

Building Additions You Love, But Many Potential Buyers Do Not

• Swimming pool – This may be fun for your family, but many people see it as a hassle and a safety hazard. A pool requires regular maintenance, upkeep, and higher insurance premiums. Further, it isn’t uncommon for the buyer to put a contingency in the contract that the current owners remove the pool before the sale in complete. Putting in a pool can be very expensive, but it adds little to your home value.
• Hot tub – These have many of the same issues as pools, including upkeep, cleaning and liability. Many people just don’t want to bother with them. Also, hot tubs and swimming pools may have value in Sun Belt states, but far less in northern areas.
• Home theaters – Again, home theaters are not to everyone’s taste. Some potential buyers might see it as a waste of space and electricity. Converting it back to an empty room is expensive, especially with built in electronics.
• Built-in fishtank – An aquarium might be your favorite accessory for its beauty and entertainment value. However, a built-in tank makes it an obligation to new owners and many buyers don’t want that responsibility. An aquarium may look great to you up front, but it is costly to take care of and becomes an eyesore if not properly maintained. Installation is a big expense and so is its removal.

The bottom line is to use common sense when deciding how to remodel. If you plan to live in your home for many years, the renovations listed here are less of a problem. If you know you will be there for a shorter term, think carefully before taking the plunge. If you really want it, try to keep your changes more mainstream and be prepared for the possibility of making more changes when you decide to sell.

Putting your house on the market during the cold months may not be your first choice, and the prospect may give you a case of the winter blues. Perk up! Nearly a million homes were sold in December 2018 through February 2019. There are many good strategies for speeding winter homes sales, starting with this list.

Get Good Help

Hire an experienced real estate agent with a history of selling in every month of the year. Ask their strategy in marketing your house during the winter months to a reduced pool of buyers. Over 90 percent of all buyers use the internet to search for new homes and winter weather won’t stop them.

Include photos of your home in all seasons for your online listing. Be sure to use a professional photographer who can showcase your home with excellent lighting and attractive angles. Add some pictures taken earlier in the year so buyers can see your property surrounded by green grass and leafy shrubs.

Fewer Sellers

Since the majority of sellers flood the market in the spring, you have less competition in winter with a lower inventory. Buyers have less to choose from which might mean that your home could sell faster. Work with your agent to price your home to sell.

Serious Buyers

If buyers are out looking at properties on snow-covered roads, they are likely very motivated. Perhaps they have a lease that’s expiring or have a contract on the home they are selling. January and February are typically a big time of the year for corporate relocations, so there are plenty of people searching for new homes before their move. These buyers are on a time crunch, which can work to your advantage.

Year-End Tax Breaks

If buyers are looking to buy in the winter, they may be very interested in making a purchase before the end of the year. They can write off some home buying expenses on their taxes. They can also deduct mortgage interest, private mortgage insurance premiums and real estate taxes.

Winter Curb Appeal

Snow can actually make your home look beautiful, but only when it’s fresh and new. Clear the driveway, sidewalks, deck, and patio and keep them clear throughout the winter season. In addition to keeping buyers safe as they walk to your door, you are letting them see what’s buried under the snow that they would enjoy the rest of the year. Keep ice melt down as needed. Clear a path from the street to your walkway so visitors aren’t forced to come through snowdrifts. Winter days get dark early, so make sure your exterior is well lit. Solar lights lining the sidewalk can help.

If you are selling around the holiday season, keep outdoor decorations simple. After the first of the year, make sure they are all gone. Your curb appeal will take a big hit if you still have Christmas lights up after the middle of January.

A Cozy Interior

Potential buyers are looking for a warm, cozy place to call home. This is easy to achieve in the winter with a fire in the fireplace, some good smells coming from the kitchen and a few soft throw blankets placed around the home. Keeping your home light and warm are prime concerns this time of year. Push the thermostat up and turn your lamps on. Utilize timers when you aren’t home during the day. Open shutters and drapes. Check outer doors and windows for drafts then correct any inadequate seals. Swap out old filters from your HVAC system to help rid the house of bad odors and keep the air fresh.

Make your house sparkle. Deep clean every room, closets, under sinks, the basement, and the garage. Check for spiderwebs in every corner of every room. Winter shoppers are going to track snow and dirt into the house, so maintain between showings by sweeping, mopping and vacuuming daily. Place a sticker with most recent inspection on the hot water heater and the HVAC system.

Again, keep holiday decorations to a minimum instead of displaying your entire collection of Santas, snowmen, and nativities. One exception is a tall Christmas tree if you have cathedral ceilings. A soaring tree emphasizes the height and drama of the room. Be prompt putting decorations away. Everything that looked so pretty when you first decked the halls will start to look tacky if it lingers deep into the new year.

It can be a challenge to sell your home during the winter, but with strategic planning and creative marketing, you can find a buyer even with Jack Frost nipping at your nose.

There are many unavoidable tasks to tackle as you prepare to sell your home and move. However, you can reduce some of the stress with this checklist. Use it as a guide to avoid over-thinking and over-doing a few things. You’ve got enough to do already!

First:  Hire an Agent

You want to get the best price for your home and there are plenty of potential pitfalls before reaching that goal. A good agent will help you set the right price, handle marketing, manage negotiations and guide you through all the necessary paperwork. You will increase your chance for a quick sale with an agent working for you, so hire a well qualified person and listen to their advice. Let your agent shoulder some of the stress.

Restrain Your Urge to Decorate

A few strategic changes to your home may really boost your asking-price, but don’t overdo it. Replacing worn carpet and paint are good ideas, but choose neutral colors even if that may not be your taste. You might love a Southwest motif, but your potential buyers might flinch. Going neutral with everything as you prepare for a sale should make decorating decisions easier.

Don’t Over Do Improvements

Again, there are changes you can make that will help your house sell, but don’t worry about the small stuff. You might opt to replace outdated appliances or broken door hinges. Concentrate on necessary fixes, but don’t overdue it. There are plenty of repairs that you could make that will neither increase the home’s value nor accelerate the sale. Be sure to ask your REALTOR^® what you should fix and what you should ignore before your house goes on the market.

Start Packing to Eliminate Clutter

Reducing the clutter around your house is a stress reliever because it helps get part of your packing done. This is your chance to weed out items you don’t want to keep:  donate some, recycle others and toss the rest.  A thorough clutter reduction before the house goes on the market will make it easier for you to do a quick clean up before each showing, too.

It’s Not Personal

When your house is for sale, you need to think like a business person and not a home owner. That means having a thick skin when prospective buyers are judging the pros and cons of your place. Of course, you have lots of emotion, memories and dreams tied up in your home. You need to put all that aside and distance yourself during the sale. Don’t feel badly if potential buyers complain about your choice of draperies or talk about digging up your rose bushes. Just get the house sold and then make plans for your next garden.

Don’t Stick Around

Get the entire family out the door when a showing is scheduled, including pets if possible. Buyers need to be able to imagine themselves in your home and that’s difficult if you are there. Refer back to the “It’s Not Personal” item above. They will likely say things that could hurt your feelings, so don’t stick around to hear their discussion. Avoid this stress, leave the house, and at the very least wait in the backyard while they are there.

Moving is a hard task and you want to get the sale completed quickly. Remove the stressors where you can. Before you know it, you’ll be handed the keys to your new dream house and be ready to start your next chapter.