Stop Throwing your Money Away with these 4 Ill Advised Home Improvements

September 10th, 2014  |  Home Insurance

The goal for most home renovation projects is to add to the current value of your home. Considering the cost of renovation projects can easily add up to the tens of thousands, it is very important that you choose your project wisely. You need to choose a renovation project that will not only give you the new space you want, it also has to make financial sense.

If you fail to take the financial component of a renovation project into consideration, you could be throwing away your money. This is particularly important if you are doing upgrades to your home in advance of selling. Every upgrade you do will not necessarily add value to your home and many projects fail to provide the ROI you think they will. 

There are many standard home renovations that are great investments. Kitchen, bathroom, and basement renovations are perhaps the best bang for your buck for renovations. However, there are also a number of ill-advised home improvements that, while they will improve the look of your home, do not provide you with a good ROI. 

4 Ill Advised Home Improvements With A Poor ROI

Here are some home renovation projects that do not provide a great return on investment:

1. Home office remodels: With more and more people working at home these days, you would think that renovating your home office would be a good investment. Not necessarily. While homes offices are nice to have, they do not entice buyers like other newly renovated spaces. Plus, most people renovate their office to meet their personal needs, which might have limited appeal to others. 
2. Installing a pool: Everyone wants a pool, right? Not exactly. According to The Appraisal Institute of Canada, pools offer one of the lowest ROIs at 10%-40%. Saunas and hot tubs are similar. In fact, a pool can actually hurt your ability to sell your home in the future as it limits the number of buyers that will have interest in your home.
3. Creating an upscale garage: Most people have a garage on their must have list when shopping for a home, but investing thousands of dollars into an upscale garage will not add much to the sale of your home. Building a garage from the ground up is also another project that isn’t associated with a good ROI. 
4. Sunrooms and green rooms: These types of rooms have limited appeal to buyers. Some people like them and others don’t. Considering the cost of this addition and an estimated 50% ROI, there are better home renovation projects to invest in that will offer a better return.

In general, when planning a renovation project, it’s important to focus on upgrades that have a wide appeal. Niche projects and more personalized renovations tend to provide a lower return on your investment. If you are going to go ahead with a project that yields a poor ROI, make sure you factor in the long term repercussions of the renovation. 

Will the project hinder your ability to sell down the road? Will you get enough use out of it to make it worth your while? Will it hurt your homes resale value?

Answer these questions and consider the financial aspect of the renovation before getting started. 

Learn More:Home Renovations and Home Insurance