If you’re planning to sell your home and want to get the best price for it, or if you’re considering investing a large amount of money into renovations, then it’s absolutely vital to investigate which improvements are worth the expense – and which you should avoid at all costs.

Before we dive into our list of which home improvement projects you should avoid (or at least very carefully consider), we want to reveal how you can decide if a project will add value or not.

After talking to the experts, it turns out that the general rule is actually quite simple. Basically, any project that aims to benefit your home’s basic, functional elements will boost your home’s value, while cosmetic improvements won’t have a dramatic effect. For example, you should strongly consider repairing the roof and plastering those cracks in the wall over any cosmetic improvement.

Now, let’s look at which changes won’t add value and which could actually decrease your home’s value.

7 Home improvements that don’t add value

Your home is more than a shelter. It’s a source of pride, a place you can relax in after a long day, and an investment that can reap dividends if you want to sell it in future. Naturally, you might want to make some improvements and increase your home’s value. That said, just because you see something as ‘better,’ doesn’t mean that a potential buyer will feel the same way.

1. Garage conversions might seem like a good idea so that you can create a home office or a suite for your in-laws, but the amount you’ll spend won’t add a reciprocal value to your asking price.
2. Lavish lighting fixtures can be overwhelming and even off putting, so it’s far better to stick to something simple and understated if you need to change these fixtures.
3. Major landscaping, which is costly, isn’t generally viewed as a value-add in the eyes of potential buyers.
4. A swimming pool might be your dream and welcome relief in summer, but you won’t see the whole of that extra investment back.
5. Removing period features, like bricking up the hearth and covering the original wood flooring might seem like an easy way to modernize your home, but these can make amazing focal points that add character.
6. Replacing the carpeting is a bit like repainting the walls – someone else might not like the colour and texture, and they could end up replacing the very same, brand new carpeting that you’ve paid to install.
7. Investing in too much home tech, like being able to turn on the lights and oven with your phone might seem cool but it won’t add value to your home and could actually put buyers who aren’t equipped to live the smart life off.

8 Improvements that could hurt your home’s value

You may have dreams of a Pinterest-worthy kitchen, a pool, or solar panels to ease the frustration of loadshedding, and believe us, we’re not here to squash any dreams. However, it’s only fair to inform you before you commit to anything that there are some projects which can actually take away from your home’s existing value.

Here are 8 projects that could potentially reduce your home’s value:

1. Custom luxury upgrades, particularly if they don’t match the rest of the house, like a modern, high-end kitchen in your country-styled home.
2. Over-personalised touches, like quirky tiling and wallpaper, which can be overwhelming and signify heavy removal costs to buyers.
3. Luxury bathrooms that scare off buyers with their over-the-top details, like a whirlpool tub that’s hard to clean and astronomically expensive to remove.
4. Combining bedrooms to create bigger rooms, because even small bedrooms add value to homes.
5. Sunrooms seem great, but the return on investment is so low that it’s not worth it if you’re moving on.
6. A built-in aquarium might seem like you can make your home feel fancy, but most buyers will only see the constant maintenance and potential removal costs.
7. DIY repairs that often look exactly like the owner did it by themselves, complete with shoddy workmanship and unfinished bits.
8. Customising a space for a dedicated purpose, like a home gym, man cave or home theatre, tells buyers that they will have to spend time and money making it usable for any other purpose.

The bottom line

It is wise to invest some money into your home and if you really want a pool for the time that you’ll be living in your home, then you should put a pool in. However, we hope that these suggestions will help you make the right sort of changes that will result in selling your home for the price that you need and want.

Don’t forget that AA Inform is home to a range of useful tools and resources, including the chance to get a property valuation report or multiple home insurance quotes from AA Insurance Supermarket that you can compare.