How Over Improving Your Home Can Result in Owning a White Elephant

Yes sometime the owner is so unique in their tast it is hard to find someone who likes there work.

This renovation calls for a downgrade. Maybe the next owner can sell some of the ornaments on ebay! 

If anyone can sell that white elephant..it is Elizabeth Weintraub.

So sorry about California Chrome!

You are the one who told me about CC running 3 weeks ago.

Any out of the ordinary finishes can be hard to sell.  I know a home owner who recently got back from the southwest where they do a lot of ceramic tile flooring all over the home.  In Northern VA, it tends to not go over so well unless it's in a bathroom or kitchen.  It feels cold and impersonal to our buyers, but we are used to hardwoods.  Something that simple can make your home stick out like a sore thumb and make it difficult to sell.  So if you are going to do specific, out of the ordinary or over the top improvements, make sure you get your monies worth out of the enjoyment.  You won't recoup it in the sales price.

Some people go a little over the top.....and maybe they were not going to sell...just to give themselves their version of eye candy.

There is no cure for tacky except maybe staying drunk with the drapes closed Elizabeth.

All property will sell regardless of the location or price.  The issue is time and desirability

And, I can hear the cry of the white elephant in the back of my mind.  It goes something like: "What do you mean it's only worth $xxx, I put over $xxxx worth of upgrades into this home.  I'm not giving it away!"

If you're going to update and move within the next 5 years, do it tastefully! Resale value should always be on the back of a homeowners mind. 

It's a lose-lose situation for the seller (who probably won't get their money back) and the poor neighbors (who have to look at it).  Not to mention the realtor who needs to work magic to get it sold!