Property flipping, renting, or selling is a lucrative venture for anyone trying to make a passive income, especially with the means to own more than one property during a time of economic uncertainty. If you’re either beginning a project, thinking of selling soon, or intending to renovate to sell, not every idea is worth its price. Here are just some of the largest pits for renovation budgets:
1.Wallpapering a room: While it might be a minor inconvenience from one prospective buyer to the next, distracting patterns or large differences between themes from one room to another can make a living space feel disjointed. If you’re considering selling, try a fresh coat of neutral colors prior to staging the home! Create a room in which buyers can feel like they can see themselves growing into the space, changing the look of their rooms to their liking without having to strip down wall after wall.
2.Textured walls or ceilings: Something a lot of people overlook as they grow into their home is a textured ceiling they barely notice. When paint application is done in a textured style, it makes it significantly harder to fix small imperfections on a wall or ceiling later.
3.Adding too much carpet: Just like choosing a particular paint swatch for a room or a mattress based on the firmness and feel of it, floor-to-floor carpeting can be a large turn off for prospective buyers. Because the feel and color is unique to any individual’s liking, an alternative for covering the floors in carpeting that does perform well is tiling or installing hardwood. This is most often one of the first renovations new buyers take on, and if it’s not in their budget, they may decide to look elsewhere.
4.Upgrading everything, including the kitchen sink? Consider buying midrange appliances and fixing relevant and fixtures in need of repair before fully upscaling the space. According to Remodeling, on average, homeowners renovating to sell lose upwards of $20,000 on the investment spent on kitchen improvements.
5.If you won’t be working from that home much longer, don’t assume they will either: One of the most popular trends of 2020 home renovations has been seen in the creation of home offices. Serving a purpose only 2020 could’ve created, homeowners are merging their at-home lifestyles with a remote work life that could detract buyers by defining spaces that could serve as something else. This doesn’t mean you have to leave your personal office dreams at the door, but don’t spend the money and time fully renovating a room when the extended ethernet cable to improve wi-fi speed is ditched when it becomes a guest bedroom.
6.Merging rooms: The cost of tearing down a wall between smaller bedrooms to create a larger space can be attractive, but if there’s any potential of moving or spending project-money wisely, this can give an incredibly low return on income. The more available rooms the better, even if that means they appear smaller. Shop for slim furniture, finding the right colors, windows, and opening the space up through design first.
The home renovation and improvement processes are always exciting and oftentimes nerve-wracking. Where one person may see incredible value in a unique light fixture, another considers it an extra reason to continue looking. While you should follow your gut, the trends in homeownership and buying give us a look into the world of smart saving and remodeling to get the best outcome possible.
