Part of the excitement of being a homeowner is being able to customize your living space to meet your needs and fulfill your personal design aesthetic. But before you start knocking down bedroom walls to create a larger room or splashing your living room walls with bright colors or unique textures, consider the effect those moves will have on your home’s resale value.

BRIGHT PAINT COLORS, WALLPAPER, AND TEXTURES
Bright, bold paint colors may seem like a simple alteration for a potential homebuyer to rectify, but in a competitive housing market, it may be all they need to encourage them to purchase the house they’d been eyeing a street over. If you’re purchasing a starter home that you don’t expect to make your forever home, choosing a more neutral color palette may be more practical. In the same vein, adding hard-to-remove wallpaper or texturizing the walls and ceilings could be detrimental to the home’s resale value. Instead, consider adding colorful and textured home decor that meets your design preferences and can easily be removed.

KNOCKING DOWN WALLS
For a small family, knocking down a bedroom wall to create a larger bedroom can be tempting. But before you do so, remember that more small bedrooms will add greater value to your home than fewer large bedrooms. But you don’t have to knock down walls to make a small bedroom feel larger. Adding mirrors around the room can give the illusion of more space, refracting light from one to another and giving the space a sense of depth. Another design trick to consider in a small space is to think vertical. With limited floor space, use the space you have on the walls by adding built-in shelves or hanging shelves to add storage.

CONVERTING THE GARAGE
Another project that may be detrimental to your home’s resale value is converting your garage to a gym or living space. If you’re not big on storing your vehicle in the garage, converting this extra square footage into more living space can be extremely tempting. However, potential homebuyers often search for homes with a garage to house their vehicles, so if you do decide to convert this space, try to make the renovations simple and easily removable.

ADDING A SWIMMING POOL
When some people are searching for a house and see a swimming pool, they see summer fun and excitement. When others see a swimming pool, they see a lot of maintenance and upkeep. If you decide to build a swimming pool in your backyard, except that you may not see a return on that investment when you decide to sell your home and could face difficulty selling your property due to what some prospective homebuyers may view as a hassle.

UNREPAIRED DAMAGES
Unrepaired damages from old insurance claims, possibly from hail damage, wind damage, or even mold damage, can drive down the value of your property and maybe a deal buster when discovered by your home inspector. Prior to putting your home on the market, make sure any damage caused by storms or weather is property addressed with your insurance carrier. Unrepaired damages are a red flag to many prospective buyers, so be sure to take care of those issues ahead of time.

OVER-PERSONALIZATION
Most homeowners have a desire to turn their house into a comforting space to unwind. You want to love the space you live in, but over-customization could be a turn-off to potential homebuyers. Quirky kitchen and bathroom tiles, expensive built-in electronics, or a built-in aquarium may suit your personal tastes, but it’s important to consider what effect these alterations will have on your home’s resale value. You may find the perfect buyer that will love and appreciate your unique design choices, or you may find yourself continually slashing down the asking price in order to get your house sold.

It’s important to love the place you live, but you don’t want to drain your bank account on renovations that won’t reward you in return.