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| Dangerous Decorating: Improvements that Lower the Value of Your Home |
Reality television home improvement shows are no doubt fun to
watch. It is amazing to see a small room or entire home
transformed into a show place. Some of the most unbelievable
transformations are on children's rooms. They will take a theme
like the racecars or princesses and make a child's dream come
true.
As a Realtor, my favorite part of the show Trading Places: Boys
vs. Girls, is at the very end when the parents arrive to see the
redecorated room for the first time. Whether there are ropes
hanging from the ceiling, a psychedelic paint job or artificial
grass on the floor, the reactions are priceless. Sure they are
saying "awesome" for the television cameras, but are they really
happy with the new rooms? As a parent, I know how quickly kids
grow out of favorite toys, colors and activities. A theme-based
room could be hard to transform back to a normal room when the
fad passes or child grows. And what if you have to sell your
home? How will potential buyers view that boat on the ceiling or
the chalkboard |
walls?
This isn't just something that happens on television. People
really do crazy things to their homes and it's not always for
their children. Whether it is a unique wall treatment or an
indoor hot tub, some people's individualism hurts the value of
their homes.
Here are some of my favorite, unbelievable things I have seen in
people's homes and how the remodel deteriorated the estimated
value.
Playground Swings in the bedroom. This family removed a wall
from two adjoining bedrooms to create one large room and bolted
two playground swings to the ceiling. This home was 1700 ft..,
split level home with 3 bedrooms prior to removing the wall. It
is now an odd two bedroom. Combined with the possible extreme
damage to the structure of the home depending on the weight of
the persons using the swings this home would have lost thousands
of dollars of market value.
Crinkled grocery bags glued to the wall instead of wallpaper. It
is a nice unique look but since it will be difficult, if not
impossible to |
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remove, you will need to find a buyer who likes
the look as much as you did.
Multi-colored hand painted murals and stenciling painted on
walls throughout the home. This can be beautiful to the owner
but because it is uneven, it is difficult to repaint. Often
sanding and several layers of special primer are required to
remove.
Indoor hot tubs. Unless you are installing in a four-season
porch, think twice about this, especially if you live in a cold
weather state. It just doesn't make any sense. I have seen them
installed in bedrooms and family rooms. Many were professionally
installed. Most buyers still didn't like them because they took
away living space. Often buyers were concern about the
installation. What if it leaks? Will it wreck the foundation?
Does the steam cause mold? Even if the sellers offer to remove
the hot tub prior to the closing, buyers have so many concerns
that they will walk away from the home. Again your improvement
reduced the value of your home buy tens of thousands of dollars.
So does |
this mean a person shouldn't personalize their home at
all? Of course not! It is your home after all.
What I am suggesting is that when you are considering a home
improvement or trying the next decorating trend, remember that
your home is your biggest investment and asset. Put the hot tub
on the patio, deck or four-season porch. Swings belong in the
backyard. And wall treatments need to be removable and easy to
repaint. Make your decisions with this in mind and your home
will be beautiful and pocketbook will be protected.
Copyright 2006 Teri Eckholm
About the author:
Teri Eckholm is a Minnesota Realtor with Keller Williams Premier
Realty serving clients in the Twin Cities metro area. Selected
as a 2004 and 2005 Super Agent by Mpls/St. Paul Magazine, her
extensive sales and marketing background has allowed her to
assist hundreds of clients move from across town and across the
U. S. Find more about Teri and the Twin Cities real estate
market at http://www.terieckholm.com
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