Further to our blog post last week, we are following up with the top ten renovations that actually decrease the value of your home.

Here are the final 5:

Bedroom Conversions

Anytime you remove a bedroom from your home you decrease the value.

Whether it’s permanently converting a bedroom into an office, closet, or combining two bedrooms into one, the loss of one bedroom will cost you.

Adding a bedroom in your can increase the value of your home by $15,000 - $25,000 so you can safely assume that is the approximate amount you’re losing by removing a bedroom. 

Removing Closets

Closets and storage space in general are key motivators for homebuyers.

Using that square footage to expand a nearby bathroom or bedroom seems like an easy decision, especially if you’re not really using that closet, to begin with. However, it comes at a cost to your home’s value.

Similarly to bedrooms and bathrooms, the more closets, the better. Closets and storage space may not get front-line treatment in the listing, but buyers definitely notice when they’re lacking.

Inflexible Rooms

An overly specific room, such as a home gym or theatre, can be seen as a renovation bill to potential buyers.

While some buyers may love this feature, others may not have the same interests and want to convert the room to something more useful to their lifestyle, such as a bedroom or additional storage space.

That said, the value a home theatre brings to your house depends a lot on the size of your home and whether comparable homes in your neighbourhood have them.

But if you’ve used precious square footage in a modest home for one and no other homes in your area have a theatre, the people looking to buy may not be wowed by this and see it as a renovation expense they will need to take on. 

Pool and Hot Tub

We all dream of having a pool and hot tub in our backyard…or do we?

Yes, these are excellent features but they are extremely expensive and time-consuming to upkeep.

Many buyers actually see pools and hot tubs as something they will need to pay for or remove.

If your home is located in an area where these are common, then yes, they may increase the value, but there are no comparables in your area, your chances of this increasing the value of your are actually quite slim. 

Textured Ceilings and Walls

Adding texture to your walls or ceilings is an incredibly personal choice and unfortunately, they are often associated with cheaper housing.

Buyers are definitely not looking to purchase a home where they will need to scrape the texture of the ceiling before moving in, which can be an extremely messy and expensive procedure.