Avoid These Renovations That Can Hurt Your Home's Value

Photo: Artur_Nyk (Shutterstock)

People purchase and move into new homes (well, new to them) for many different reasons. And it’s one thing if the idea is to stay in a house for the rest of your life (or at least foreseeable future), but if you think—or know—you’re going to move at some point in the not-so-distant future, it’s another case completely. This could happen if you accept a five-year contract for a job in a city where you don’t intend on staying, or if you plan to have a family and will eventually outgrow your starter house, for example.

And while it’s important to make yourself at home and comfortable—including by decorating the rooms according to your taste—sometimes certain changes can make your house less valuable when you try to sell it in the future. Here are a few of the home renovations that could end up hurting the value of your home.

Removing closets to make a room bigger

Although there’s probably a good reason why you want to knock out a closet to make a space bigger, a future potential buyer might not see it the same way. Having built-in storage like closets is important for most people, but having a slightly bigger office or bedroom may not be.

Difficult-to-replace personalized decor

You may love the look of a non-traditional tile pattern or textured ceiling, but again, someone considering buying your home may not. In fact, some experts argue that even choosing bright, bold paint colors—like a blood red—for walls isn’t a great idea. Although you can paint over it before putting your home on the market, it could take more time and effort to make the walls neutral again.

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Combining smaller bedrooms into a larger one

Having a big primary bedroom may be nice, but cutting down the number of bedrooms in a house could mean that potential future buyers—who require a certain number—may not even consider scheduling a showing. According to Brian Davis, real estate investor and director of education of renting resource SparkRental, each bedroom can add around 15% to the value of a home.

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