Wallpaper
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Thinking of putting up wallpaper anywhere in your home? Be prepared to pay for your wall covering at the wallpaper store and again when you sell your home.With so many patterns from which to choose, the chance of a home buyer having your exact taste in wallpaperis slight. If you’re in a real estate market where prices are slipping and sales times are increasing, wallpaper can sabotage your efforts to build equity, so get rid of it before you sell.
"In this market, I’ve seen sellers having to credit the buyer for a few thousands dollars to cover the cost of removing wallpaper and wall treatments," says Susan Huerta, an agent with Long & Foster Real Estate, Clarksville, Maryland.
Home Office
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If you work from home, converting a bedroom into a home office may be a necessity. But you won’t add value to your home by installing custom cabinets, adding a laminate desktop and wiring for telecommunications equipment, according to the National Association of Home Builder’s Cost vs. Value survey.
The average home office remodel costs $13,143 nationally and recoups $9,569 at resale, returning 72.8 percent. Still, if you divide the loss over the 260 work days a year you’re sitting in that home office, it’s only about $13.75 a day – less if you keep the house more than a year.
Garage to Family Room
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Converting a garage into a family room can backfire when it’s time to sell your home. "I’ve had clients turn down houses that are good deals and otherwise perfect for them because they had only a one-car garage," says Susan Huerta, a Realtor with Long & Foster Real Estate, Clarksville, Maryland. "People want three-car garages now, so a home where the garage has been converted can be a tough sell."
If you do a conversion, be sure to pull the proper building permits. "Buyers have been known to back-out if remodels are not done to code," warns Lynn Anderson of ZipRealty, East Bay, California.
The only time a garage conversion makes sense for future return if when you have room to build a detached garage, adds Mark P. Riley of Mark P. Riley Luxury Real Estate Group, Sarasota, Florida.
-Dona DeZube, a serial renovator and freelance writer, lives in Clarksville, Maryland.
