Decorate/Remodel for You, or Future Buyers?

[Amethyst]

OK, every time anyone (including me) posts for advice and thoughts on redecorating/remodeling, people always seem to separate into two extremes:

1) Do exactly what you want, with no regard for what real estate agents will tell you are the things which others like or dislike. Future buyers will only rip it out and re-do it anyway.

2) Don't do anything to personalize your house, because it will make it harder to sell one day, and get you less money. Future buyers don't want to invest a lot in remodeling right off the bat.

Except for "obvious" situations, where you don't plan to stay in a house very long, which of these is the way to go? Let's assume that hardly anyone gets to die in their "final" house - it almost always will have to be sold.

(And please don't answer "Yes." )

 

[REWahoo]

(And please don't answer "Yes." )

OK, "No."

Kidding aside, who knows? You can add this question to the list that includes when to take SS and whether or not to pay off the mortgage early.

 

[W2R]

Except for "obvious" situations, where you don't plan to stay in a house very long, which of these is the way to go?

I think this is one of those situations where there is no right answer; each of us has to do what feels right to us at the time. On the one hand, we have all known people who decorated for future buyers, but did not get any financial advantage from it and didn't really like the updates while they lived there. But on the other hand, what if we don't decorate for future buyers? Then we'll never know what we might have gotten for the house.

If you have a really good realtor, it may help to follow his/her advice. When I sold my last house all I only fixed things that were broken and didn't redecorate. This was on advice from my real estate guy. I got the amount I wanted quickly, but it was a hot market at the time.

But when I bought my present "Dream Home" I submitted an all cash full price offer in within 24 hours. It was accepted before the house was even on the MLS. And thank goodness for that - - the prior owners had planned to "update" the beautiful old 1960's pastel tile bathrooms and was just hours from starting on that project. I love those bathrooms just as they are, for nostalgic reasons.

 

[RunningBum]

Some people are all about finances, and wouldn't dream of putting money into a house they won't get back. Others view money as a way to make themselves comfortable and/or happy so they don't worry about whether it'll pay off.

I'm surprised you only see the extremes. I'm not afraid to do things to my taste, but I have my limits if it's going to cost a bundle or really work against me at sales time, whenever that is.

 

[njhowie]

Your home, your enjoyment - do what will make you happy.

We've been in our home 20 years now, and really have no intent of selling...ever. I'm not interested in what the (potential) future owner may like or not like. I pay the taxes today, I do what I like. As it is, our plan is to hand the house down when we pass - the kid can choose to live in it or sell it. Either way, the future owner can do what they like and we're not really concerned about how that may effect the selling price at the time.

 

[RobbieB]

We do it for us with no regard or consideration of future sale.

If I'm going to make improvements it's going to be what I want. But then I'm a home owner, not a real estate investor.

 

[pb4uski]

I'm in between.... principally for our enjoyment but with an eye towards the resale implications.

I'm probably a bit more cautious with our Florida condo as it seems that buyers place less value on updated condos... so while we have done some things I am cautious of overimproving to a point where we end up losing money if/when we sell.

 

[davebarnes]

For us, not for you

We do it for us with no regard or consideration of future sale. If I'm going to make improvements it's going to be what I want. But then I'm a home owner, not a real estate investor.

We have lived in our latest house for 9+ years.
One year in, we spent money on making the back yard/patio what we wanted.
Two years in, we built a shared patio with our duplex neighbors. Don't like the idea of shared patio? Too bad. It is now part of the party-wall agreement.
Six years in, we renovated what was a brand new kitchen in 2011 when the house was built. I wanted my Sub-Zero, damnit. So far during these last 3 years we have done and better cooking.

We plan to live here for another 15+ years.

 

[Ronstar]

We do whatever we want in decorating our house. It’s for our enjoyment. We can’t speculate what decorating trends will be in the future when we want to sell our house. Nor would we stray from our likes in order to satisfy a realtor.

 

[RunningBum]

I think there's some question on whether you are talking about island kitchen seating or not, which apparently was a thing, is not a thing now, but certain could be a thing again in the future, vs. something really off the wall like putting a hot tub in your living room.

 

[Chuckanut]

Buyers are not a monolithic group and you the only outsider.

Remodel for what makes you happy, and let a future agent work for his or her commission.

 

[Marita40]

I would never do anything solely for future buyers. Don't know them and don't care. I renovate for my own enjoyment and needs. On the other hand, I am not one to do something so over the top that it would positively detract from a future sale. I can't imagine what that would be. (Ok, maybe something like tear out the tiny urban backyard and put a pool in--terrible idea in MN!). I'm pretty "classic" in renovations and always try to make them in keeping with the character of the house.

 

[Katsmeow]

We did a six figure remodel recently so we did think about it. We do not plan to sell this house until I guess one of us passes on. The survivor might or might not move at some point. That said -- you never know what will happen when.

I did not do 1 or 2. I did, maybe, 1.25. That is I mostly did what I wanted but I did pay some attention to what if we had to sell.

We did some major stuff that might turn off some buyers, but I think would attract others.

Examples:

1. We got rid of our tub in our master bath and put in a large work in shower (I recently posted a pic of it in another thread). Some people absolutely want a tub in a master. I would not get rid of a tub if it was the only one I had but we had one in another bathroom. I think just as many or more people will like the large shower instead of having a tub and a small shower.

2. We removed our fireplace and chimney and enclosed part of our patio making a sunroom. The removal of the fireplace and chimney was a major undertaking. So far, everyone who has seen it thinks we vastly improved the house. The old fireplace was massive brick and made our living room very unusable. Now everything works. But, if someone really wants a fireplace that could be a deal breaker. However, the work we did added square footage to the house and made it far more functional and updated. I think more people will like it than not. I think it will be a net benefit.

Then there are things that you recognize are really specific to you and could be a negative for others. There were two we considered for the remodel, one of which we did and the other we did not.

I wanted painted cabinets in our bathroom and utility room (we were not remodeling the kitchen). I painted them a dark teal blue (if you find that other thread you can see them in the photo). Anyway, most people will probably not like that color. But I did.

I went ahead with it for two reasons. First, houses where I live sell quickly. I contracted for this house before it was officially on the market and had to beat out two other people to get it and paid over list price. The things that make this area desirable (location) aren't likely to change during my lifetime. So, the odds are people may not like the cabinet colors but it will still be easy to sell.

The other thing is that this is something that be changed. It would be a pain, but we could change the color to white if we were selling and thought it would help sell the house. Years ago, we built a house that we used very bold colors that most people would not like (we had purple carpet in our formal living room for example). We had trouble selling. So we yanked out the carpet and put in beige carpet and repainted and sold the house in one day.

Now - the thing we didn't do. This is a 4 bedroom house. The secondary bedrooms are small. We really only need two bedrooms -- the master and a guest room. We use the others for other things. Our master bedroom was challenged for closet space. We considered combining the master bedroom with the small bedroom that backed up to it. But, changing a 4 bedroom house to a 3 bedroom house would cause a decline in value even if the new master bedroom had been awesome. I just couldn't do it. We also considered removing closets from one of the bedrooms that was being used as an office. But if we did that and needed to sell it wouldn't be considered a bedroom. So we put a small closet in there so that it still qualifies.

 

[travelover]

I plan to be carried out of our current house, so screw it if the next owner doesn't like it. Once you get to a certain age, you realize that your time is finite and you need to live it for yourself.

 

[Amethyst]

A relative used to say this, with immense conviction. Now, widowed, her ailments have gotten to the point that she realizes she cannot stay in her home and must sell.

I plan to be carried out of our current house, .

 

[TimeMeasure]

Everything in moderation. We made improvements in our last house that were to our taste, but kept resale potential in mind as well.

Whether changes to the house will be helpful, detrimental or neutral in a resale depends on many things, so many of them unknowable - e.g. whether it will be a buyers’ or sellers’ market when one puts the house up for sale.

The problem is analogous to the problem of tax-advantaged investing, in which part of the strategy hinges on knowing whether your personal tax rate, in retirement, will be greater or less than your current tax rate. Many plausible lines of reasoning can be advanced, but in the end, the final answer is unknown, so what better to do than hedge in such a way that no outcome is particularly worse than any other?

 

[target2019]

1) Major upgrades are for now and later: kitchen, windows and doors, HVAC, and roof. We get to use for as long as we care to, and focus on long term savings and quality when installed. We reap the savings and additional comfort, and future owners will be in good hands.
2) Everything else is for us, but we always have lived with neutral schemes, so most buyers would not be turned off by our design sense.

 

[BuysToys]

We have just remodeled our kitchen. We did it for us, but it will likely improve the house sale price. We've done a lot of work that won't really increase the house value, but that's OK. We plan to be here until we can't, so we're doing things for ourselves.

 

[Amethyst]

Very well put.

I have a friend who is house-proud. She complains about not being able to retire, but also is diligent about "updating" her house. Always the latest styles and colors, always working with "designers." If and when they decide to sell, it will probably sell in a day. But she was laughing the other day over some photos from 10 years ago - "My house looked like a bordello! What was it back then, with those red walls here and there? How did we ever think that looked good?"

Everything in moderation. We made improvements in our last house that were to our taste, but kept resale potential in mind as well.

Whether changes to the house will be helpful, detrimental or neutral in a resale depends on many things, so many of them unknowable - e.g. whether it will be a buyers’ or sellers’ market when one puts the house up for sale.

The problem is analogous to the problem of tax-advantaged investing, in which part of the strategy hinges on knowing whether your personal tax rate, in retirement, will be greater or less than your current tax rate. Many plausible lines of reasoning can be advanced, but in the end, the final answer is unknown, so what better to do than hedge in such a way that no outcome is particularly worse than any other?

 

[blueskyk]

We found new homes in our area had impossibly small bedrooms - like too small to allow the door to close with a queen bed, headboard and footboard. So, we knocked out a wall and combined two rooms into one larger one to make an art studio where I now enjoy spending a lot of creative time.

It may not be a great idea, resale wise, to reduce bedroom count from 4 to 3 but we don’t care. I also think I’m probably not the only person on the planet that is a bit claustrophobic and doesn’t care for bedrooms the size of a rabbit hole.

 

[old medic]

What is a selling point today, may be a turn off in 10 years....
Picture Shag carpet and gold fleck mirror tiles..... But it did go with the Water bed..
Rebuilding ours for the rest of our lives, whoever comes next... hope you like it.

 

[Golden sunsets]

We've done 2 six figure Reno's over the past 15 years, one of our large eat-in kitchen and one of our master and secondary baths. Both were gut renos, down to the studs. I worked with a designer to create the new spaces. My goal was to make choices that we loved AND were as timeless as possible. Fortunately, my tastes run to those shown in current kitchen and bath magazines and websites like Houzz and Pinterest. So the final results please us tremendously AND would please most buyers, so I think you CAN, achieve both goals in most cases.

 

[Paracelsus]

I redid both my main floor and the unit downstairs. My tastes are very happy now and I love living in this house! The house would sell quickly if needed now, compared to before, but I want to enjoy it for another decade or so. No regrets!

 

[pacergal]

We have updated kitchen x2 and bathrooms (new fixtures, flooring, appliances, etc.), but no remodel with ripping out walls. So the house is still a single story original 1960s ranch floor plan, no steps and easy to age in.
I would like a walk in shower, but we only have one tub and not enough space in the masterbath. This is a family neighborhood with a school one block over, so I know resale needs a bathtub for kids!
But the updating has made the house more liveable for me to enjoy over the years. Its about due for new carpeting and refinishing the hardwood floors, but with a dog and grandkids, we plan to wait a few more years! We've been here 30 years, hope to be here at least 20 more!

That being said, I would do what makes you happy.

 

[ElizabethT]

A topic near and dear to my heart, as we are in the midst of finishing up the last bit of our home that needed updating from its 1980's builder grade (i.e. cheapie products) origins.

I follow the rule of: Keep it neutral but quality.

Add personality through your easily replaced accessories, everything from furniture to artwork to knick knacks, but keep that foundation neutral.

The reasons are many - You are less likely to get tired of it over time, buyers will appreciate the ability to personalize the home to their liking without starting over, and classic materials will stand the test of time.

My top picks for material, which has not changed in decades of my own home-owning, nor in close to 100 years within the industry ,-

Wood or natural stone floors, depending on where the home is (wood in low humidity areas, natural stone in high humidity areas)
White or natural wood shutters (3 & 1/2" slates)
Stainless finish appliances (for those who think these are newish, and therefore a trend - they have been around for 100+ years!)
Maple cabinets, painted or not. No visible grain, so very easy to change via paint, pretty much forever.
Quartz, marble or granite counters, in as 'calm' a selection pattern as possible.

No matter what combination of above is selected, it's almost impossible to go wrong. And decades from now I feel confident it will be the same.