I’m a property expert and here are 13 ‘trendy’ home improvements that could actually DEVALUE your house
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In a precarious housing market, many homeowners are looking for ways they can increase the value of their property.
Property expert, Thomas Goodman reveals his trendy ‘turn-offs’ for house-hunters
But did you know that some of the most exciting home trends of the moment could be negatively impacting the value of your home?
There are many things that can put off potential buyers. However, certain things that can put buyers off more than others.
MyJobQuote’s property and construction expert, Thomas Goodman, has put together a list of the most common home trends that can devalue your home in an already downward market.
If you are planning home renovations this year, it may be worth taking a look at this list to make sure you don’t make the mistake of accidentally reducing your home’s value.
Converting a Garage – extra space does not necessarily mean extra value
Converting a garage into a liveable room such as a gym, office, or living room will certainly increase the amount of space in the home.
However, this will not have much of an impact on the value of your home – and in some cases, it could lower the value of your home.
Thomas said: ‘Many home hunters search for homes with a garage as this is a great place to store things or a great place to park the car and keep it safe.’
While converting a garage might seem like a good option, many buyers look for this space to store their utilities (file image)
Adding a Home Cinema – not everyone wants the theatre experience
Adding a home cinema to your property can be expensive work, especially if you are looking to install state-of-the-art equipment.
While home cinemas are great for people who enjoy the thrill of being at the theatre, for most people, a home cinema is not something they look for when buying a property.
For this reason, installing a home cinema can decrease the value of your home quite significantly.
Adding a home cinema to your property can be expensive work and might cost you a future buyer (file image)
Installing a Swimming Pool – home-hunters fear the huge costs
While to some people, owning a swimming pool at home sounds like an extremely exciting and fun thing to have.
Thomas suggested: ‘A swimming pool takes a lot of upkeep and maintenance and can cost a lot to keep it in its best condition. Most people who are looking to buy a property will see a swimming pool as more of a burden than something they want to enjoy.’
Swimming pools are a lot of work to maintain and can often be more hassle than they are worth (file image)
Open Plan homes – WFH means people want quiet and private space
Open plan living spaces are very popular as they can help to increase natural light and enhance the space. However, this job involves a lot of work and knocking down walls can also be expensive.
‘With more people working from home now, open plan living is becoming less appealing and people are preferring to have separate spaces for areas such as the living room and home office.’ said Thomas.
Open plan living spaces are very popular as they can help to increase natural light (file image)
Installing High-End Appliances – a costly outlay if you’re not staying
While purchasing the latest appliances on the market may seem like an appealing prospect, if you are planning to move home soon, it could be best to hold off and choose something more cost-effective.
Thomas said: ‘Many high-end appliances cost significantly more than average appliances, despite having the same functions and features.’
If you are planning to move home soon, it could be best to hold off and choose more cost-effective appliances (file image)
Adding Solar Panels – only cost-effective in the long-run
Solar panels are a great investment if you’re planning on staying in your home for many years. However, if you are planning on moving, adding solar panels is not going to be a cost-effective option for you, according to the property expert.
The initial investment of adding solar panels can be quite expensive. Although you will save money in the long run, if you’re planning on moving, the investment won’t pay for itself.
People might want to consider if of solar panels will benefit them for the duration of their stay (file image)
Bold Coloured Front Door – they can make your home look cheap
‘Although designers like to encourage homeowners to be creative and show off their personalities in their home décor, there are certain circumstances where this can result in your home looking cheaper and resulting in the value going down,’ said Thomas.
Bright colours on the front door can be a big turn-off for people viewing your home.
Colours that could have a damaging effect on the value of your home are bright pink, bright yellow, and orange. Instead, choose more common, neutral colours for the front door that fits in well with the overall style of your property.
Bright colours on the front door can often be a big turn-off for people viewing your home (file image)
Chevron Patterns – brillaint… but only in small doses
While this design works brilliantly in small doses, it can easily become very overwhelming and can shift the focus from other beautiful accents in a room, according to the expert.
Instead, it may pay off to choose some less distracting patterns and designs as these will be more appealing to potential home buyers.
Although this design used to be all of the range, nowadays people tend to favour a simpler design (file image)
All White – does not necessarily mean all right!
Although white can make the home look very bright and airy, all-white trends are now being replaced by warmer, earthy tones that make the home seem more cosy and homely.
Thomas said: ‘Many people are now looking to bring nature inside, so earthy tones are a great way to do this rather than all white décor.
‘All white décor can appear cold and clinical, so it may be worth opting for more earthy tones if you’re looking to sell your home in the near future.’
Although white can make the home look bright, all-white trends are now being replaced by warmer, earthy tones (file image)
Paint colours to avoid… if don’t want your home to look cheap
Dark Browns or Terracotta
The expert suggests that dark browns and terracotta shades can make your home feel dark and smaller. With this in mind, it’s best to avoid painting entire walls in this colour and to have a few accents of this colour in your décor, instead.
Having brown or terracotta walls has been shown to lower the value of your home, which is the last thing you want when selling.
Dark browns and terracotta shades can make your home feel dark and smaller (file image)
Bright Yellow
Thomas said: ‘Although yellow is a very warm and sunny colour, it’s a colour that should be avoided if you don’t want your house to look cheap.
‘This highly saturated colour is very stimulating to your emotions, but not in a good way. Bright yellow can leave you feeling overstimulated, over-excited, anxious, or nervous.
‘It can be very distracting, taking the attention away from other elements of the room.’
The contraction expert says bright yellow walls should be avoided when decorating your home (file image)
Moss Green
While green is known to be a very relaxing, natural, and soothing colour, it could be best to avoid moss greens and sage greens.
This is because these shades can make a room seem darker and appear much smaller than it is.
Instead, it’s best to choose pastel or muted greens which will help you to bring some life into the room and can add tranquillity to the space, according to the expert.
It’s best to choose pastel or muted greens which will help you to bring some life into the room (file image)
Deep Purple
Thomas said: ‘Vivid purple tones are known to be very stimulating and are especially not great for the bedroom as it is known to bring on vivid dreams and can sometimes even induce nightmares.
‘Deep purple tones will work better as accent pieces around the room rather than the main wall paint colour.’
Thomas said: ‘Vivid purple tones are known to be very stimulating’ (file image)
Off-White Tones or Eggshell
Off-white and eggshell tones were once very popular. However, now they are becoming less desirable as people began to find these tones boring and lifeless.
This is mainly because these tones don’t provide any vividness and a room’s lighting can also make off-white colours appear lacklustre and cheap-looking.
Off-white walls are becoming less desirable as people began to find these tones boring and lifeless (file image)
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