With the housing market continuing to weaken, many sellers are going beyond the usual cleaning, painting and "staging" with flowers and pillows, by taking on big-ticket projects.

Some experts warn that sellers are unlikely to get their money back from extensive renovations.  But owners often feel they have no choice if they want to sell, especially when builders of newly constructed homes are throwing in hardwood floors, finished basements and other free upgrades and perks.

Extensive presale remodeling is often fraught with conflicted decisions, because homeowners are making aesthetic choices they hope will please people they don't know.

For a project using midrange products, the best returns come from putting on a new deck, replacing the siding and sprucing up the kitchen; the lowest returns come from remodeling a home office, adding a sunroom or putting in a backup power generator.

A warning to sellers, if you feel you have to do a remodel in order to sell your home in today's market, don't overdo!

No matter what the upgrade, homeowners aren't likely to recoup all the money spent when they sell.  According to Remodeling magazine's annual Cost Versus Value Survey, the overall return for remodeling projects is on the decline, falling to an average of 70% in 2007 from 86.7% at the market peak in 2005.