I’ve heard this on more than one occasion from home sellers: We've done Lots of upgrades! NOT!! And while I appreciate the time hard work and money you’ve invested in your home, I am going to have to give you the disheartening news that all your “upgrades” are actually maintenance.
- New carpet throughout – 5 years old now, and the only reason your replaced it was because it was covered with so many stains you didn’t even want to walk on it in bare feet anymore
- New roof—You had to repair the leak. You got a new one after Hurricane Ivan in 2005!
- New furnace/ac system – it finally just quit working
- New water heater—you guessed it, it stopped working
- New kitchen appliances- 5 years old isn’t new anymore
- New electrical system- had a fire did you?
- Freshly painted—after your son left you could re-paint his black room
- New garage door- husband ran into the door one night with truck!
- New garbage disposal/faucets/shower heads- yeah… you get the point.
Folks, I hate to be the bearer of bad news…but these items are NOT upgrades, this is what’s called “deferred maintenance”. They are things we are required to do to maintain our homes. Things in our homes wear out or become outdated over time. They need to be replaced, (sort of like clothes and shoes. I know that suit is “like new” because you’ve only worn it 5 times in the last 15 years), but your stove isn’t and they do not add any additional value to your home as far as profit is concerned because you can’t add the cost of this maintenance to the price of your home and expect to get it back.
I know you paid $35,000 for that in-ground pool 15 years ago, and no we can’t add $35,000 to the price of the house for the pool after we’ve come up with value for your home. If your upgrade requires too much upkeep, buyers may view it as more of a nuisance than an asset.
An upgrade as defined means “to raise to a higher grade or standard” So some upgrades that might enhance the value of a home may include things like these:
- New roof (50 year, metal roof pays for itself and reduces insurance as well)
- New furnace (high efficiency, high-conductivity radiant warm board heating system)
- Freshly painted (“Green” feature with low VOC paint)
- New water heater ( again going “Green” high-efficiency, tank-less or heat-on-demand)
- New bathroom (walk-in tub, re done in marble or granite etc)
- Upgraded kitchen (Bosch ultra-quiet dishwasher, Viking gas stove with warming drawer, sub-zero refrigerator, New Cabinets)
- New windows (windows replaced with Pella energy star windows)
- New A/C system (upgraded from a 12 SEER to 18 SEER energy efficient system)
- New garage door and opener (insulated and exceeds hurricane standards garage door with whisper quiet opener)
- New Flooring (“Green feature” Cork, wood or tile)
- Counters (Granite, Concrete, Marble, other solid surface)
Note: if you replace laminate counters with new laminate… it’s not an upgrade. So like I said, if you replaced it because it was broken it’s called maintenance. If you replaced it with something better then it can be considered an upgrade. And believe me a buyer knows and upgrade when they see one and so does the appraiser who has to give it value. So wouldn't you rather me tell you in advance or have the appraiser reduce your value right before closing by several thousand $$$ and possibly cost you a home sale?
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