Many Lake Nacimiento homeowners consider making renovations and upgrades to their home over Labor Day weekend, either because they’re gearing up for a home sale come fall, or just to get it out of the way before winter.

As your Lake Nacimiento real estate agent, I’d like to share some renovation mistakes to avoid making. Not all home upgrades are created equal, and while some can improve your home value, others can hurt it. Check these out before making renovation plans and before spending your hard-earned money!

1.  Doing too much. It seems like the more you spend on home renovations, the more return you’d see when it comes time to sell, but that’s not always the case. You want your home to fit in with other homes in your community. If your home is more high-end than all the other homes in the area, and costs more because of it, potential homebuyers might opt to buy one of the cheaper homes instead.

2.  Customizing. You want your home to stand out, but not in the wrong ways. For instance, most homebuyers prefer neutral colored paint and décor, so painting in bright colors might turn buyers off, even if using quality paint! Too many built-in features might stifle the buyers’ ideas for home design. You want the buyer to feel like they have full control over personalizing once they move in.

3.  Focusing on one area. Overall, most homeowners are better off making small, consistent upgrades throughout the home than just focusing on one room. If you have an outlandishly fancy kitchen, but the rest of the home is mediocre, it seems strange. You’d be better off updating old appliances and fixtures in your kitchen and bathrooms rather than a complete overhaul in just one of those rooms.

4.  Changing rooms/layout. For you, it might make sense to knock down a wall between two bedrooms and make one larger room. But for potential buyers, they might want the extra bedroom. For you, it might make sense to convert the garage into an in-law suite or workshop. For a potential homebuyer, they will most likely want the garage. You want your home to appeal to the largest number of buyers.

Hopefully these tips have helped you decide what home upgrades are worth making in your Lake Nacimiento home, and which upgrades are better off avoiding. When you’re ready to sell your Lake Nacimiento home, contact me, your Lake Nacimiento real estate agent! As we transition from summer to fall, and life tends to slow down, it’s a great time to sell here in Central California.

From Grace Borzini
grace@oakshoresrealty.com