Tips for Upgrading Your Home or Flip

[missmanors]

When you decide to do some renovations to your home, or your flip here are a few things to remember. Even in your own home, you want to be sure that those renovations won't get in the way of reselling it at some future date. It's been reported that most Americans only stay in a home for about 6 years, before putting it on the market. Of course some of the tips don't apply to a flip, but many of them apply to either a flip or your own home.


If you are planning a renovation or upgrade that will require a lot of upkeep in the future, remember that a buyer may see it as a nuisance and not an asset.
A great example of this is an in-ground swimming pool, which not only can cost a lot of money to install, but also costs a lot to secure, heat and clean.
If you live in a warm climate, such as California or Florida, it's not such an issue since a pool can be used possibly year-round. In an area with cold winters though, it's not easy to get your money's worth, and can have a negative impact when trying to sell. Some potential buyers won't even look at a house with an in-ground swimming pool.


Don't overdo the amenities when renovating. Your home should blend in with the neighborhood, not completely outshine the neighbor's homes. Doing too many luxurious renovations, can leave you stuck when you want to resell, especially if you expect to make a profit, or even get your money's worth at the time of resale. For instance, you don't want to put extremely expensive countertops and cabinets in an entry-level home.........you simply are not likely to get your money back when you resell. It's a good idea to check out a few kitchens (or other rooms) in the neighborhood, to see what is common in the area.


You may love a certain look for your home, but remember that a prospective buyer may not like it at all. If you, for instance, turn the home into a Tuscany look or perhaps want a pond in the middle of a room, you may think it's wonderful, but it could be a huge negative when you are ready to sell. This type of renovation can cost you much more, if you have to remodel your renovation in order to sell.

Before adding a room, or getting rid of something that all other homes in the neighborhood has, you may want to think of how this will affect you if you do want to resell someday. I know of one homeowner that converted a garage into a bedroom, to add more living space, then when she wanted to sell the home, she found that prospective buyers wouldn't even look at the home without a garage. She ended up having to re-convert the bedroom back into a garage and then put it back on the market, which of course lowered her profit on the sale quite a bit.

[homealone]

You have given us some great information here. I never would have thought of asking to see the neighbors homes before beginning to work on my own. Even though that would be a little hard where I am now seeing as how I really dont have neighbors. (this is the only house on this block) LOL, though there is a church next door, but I dont think that would help me much.
I will make alot of use out of this post when I begin working on my home. Thanks for making this post to remind me that not everyone likes what I do.