What are the worst renovations for adding value to your home?

There will be upgrades that will discourage buyers and get your property priced below its worth on the market.

Modified on:
August 19, 2025 5:03 am

When home improvement plans are being drafted, remember that not everything that improves the home increases the home’s value. There will be upgrades that will discourage buyers and get your property priced below its worth on the market. Remembering when to avoid them is protecting an investment and being more attractive when it is time to sell.

Too personalized designs

Personalising your house to your liking can limit its marketability. Highly personalised works of art won’t be favoured by the mass consumer base, and it becomes more and more challenging to sell your house. Architectural Digest states that “overly personalised designs” are one of the things that can kill the resale value of a house.

Renovation of bedrooms or garages

Conversion of areas like bedrooms or garages is negative to the worth of your house. Removal of a bedroom decreases the area of living space, and garage conversion destroys parking or storage space, both unacceptable to the majority of buyers. The aforementioned conversions are some of the types of renovations that can destroy the resale value of a home.

Over-improving relative to neighborhood standards

Luxury finishes beyond the neighborhood standard can be a bad buy. Target market buyers will not pay more for anything that is not standard equipment in the neighborhood, and it might be difficult to recover the cost of renovation. Over improving or overbuilding a property destroys resale value.

Adding a swimming pool

Even if a pool seems expensive, it would discourage consumers due to maintenance concerns, risk concerns, and increased insurance costs. If you’re in a place where you’re in the midst of a lot of pools and you have a climate that will support it, the amenity would not have the intended impact. Unless you’re in a place that’s hot most of the year, a swimming pool won’t add much, if anything, to your home’s value.

Removing closet or storage space

Removing closet space makes the house less livable. Everyone adores storage, and being without it is a complete turn-off. Removing closets or storage areas to the list of renovations that will hurt the resale value of a home.

Curb appeal is essential, but heavily elaborate landscaping is a maintenance nightmare. Potential purchasers will shun maintenance costs of a sophisticated garden or specialty plantings. Extensive landscaping is a part of the remodel that can be detrimental to resale value.

Unpermitted additions

Permitless addition is a legal matter and can reduce the value of the property. Buyers shun unpermitted work due to the potential risk of safety and regulatory problems. Unpermitted additions are remodels that will damage the resale value of a house.

Big DIY projects

Messing around with large-scale DIY renovation without professional skills will result in inferior work. Inferior finished work devalues a house and intimidates potential buyers who desire better finishes. Avoid large DIY projects that damage a home’s resale value.

Emem Ukpong
Emem Ukponghttps://polifinus.com/author/emem-uk/
My journey to becoming a writer has been shaped by both science and finance. I began with a Bachelor's degree in Biochemistry, but I found myself drawn to the economic and financial sphere. I have collaborated with various organizations, creating articles and blogs about these essential topics. Currently, I cover financial trends, economic updates, and social welfare topics for Polifinus, ensuring that our content reaches those who need it most.

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