Not every renovation increases home value. Some changes look great on Instagram, but make buyers hesitate, appraisers downgrade, or future repairs are more expensive than they should be. If you’re spending money on your home, you deserve a return that doesn’t disappoint. Let’s break down the home remodeling in Des Moines mistakes that can lower your home’s resale value and what to do instead.
What are the Most Common Renovation Mistakes?
1, Over-Customizing
One of the biggest mistakes homeowners make is designing the house for their very specific lifestyle without thinking about general buyer appeal. Things like bold wall murals, unusual room layouts, built-in furniture everywhere, or converting a bedroom into something super niche can reduce the pool of buyers instantly.
How to avoid it:
Choose timeless design decisions for major upgrades, and keep your personality in things that are easy to change later. Structural changes and permanent installations should stay more neutral.
2. Removing Bedrooms
Turning a bedroom into a walk-in closet, home gym, or “chill zone” might feel like self-care, but buyers usually see it as lost value. Bedroom count is a major factor in pricing, listings, and search filters. Even if the square footage stays the same, losing a bedroom can drop your home into a different buyer category.
How to avoid it:
If you want a dedicated hobby space, try to do it in a basement, bonus room, or an area that doesn’t reduce the official bedroom count. If you must change the layout, plan it carefully and think like a buyer walking through the home for the first time.
3. Using Cheap Materials
Buyers can usually tell when something is the “fast version” of a remodel,l such as a thin laminate flooring that scratches easily, poor cabinet hardware, flimsy doors, or countertops that stain and chip with normal use. Even worse, cheap work becomes a red flag. Consider kitchen remodeling in Urbandale for better outcomes.
How to avoid it:
The floors, fixtures, and kitchen surface are the areas where you should spend more money and less on less important areas. You don’t need to buy the most expensive materials, but still try to get a good quality and mid-range material that is able to withstand wear. Clean edges, smooth paintwork, and properly installed trim make a home feel cared for.
4. Unfinished Renovations
The value can be lowered by the unevenness of tiles, wrong electrical installations, unstable railings, strange openings in the flooring, and poorly done caulking. The quality of the materials might be good, but unprofessional drilling can scare away potential buyers since it indicates that there might be hidden problems.
How to avoid it:
Be truthful about your abilities. Painting, changing hardware, and making light cosmetic upgrades are usually the kinds of projects that people can do themselves without making much of a mess. Anything involving plumbing, electrical, structural changes, or waterproofing should be done properly and ideally by a pro.
5. Ignoring the “Boring” Upgrades
If your home has a stunning kitchen but an outdated furnace or recurring water issues, buyers will either offer less or walk away completely. Appraisers and home inspectors don’t care how pretty the backsplash is if the fundamentals are risky.
How to avoid it:
Before any major remodel, assess what needs maintenance first. A strong foundation (literally and financially) protects the value of everything else you upgrade.
6. Overload
Ultra-specific design choices like extreme patterned tiles, bold-colored cabinets, or super shiny finishes can feel outdated quicker than you expect. What looks cutting-edge today might feel like “2019 Pinterest” in a few years, and buyers don’t love paying for someone else’s design era.
How to avoid it:
Use trends in reversible ways. Go trendy with lighting, bar stools, accent walls, wallpaper in powder rooms, or décor. Keep permanent features like flooring, cabinetry, and major fixtures more classic.
7. Focusing on One Room Only
A high-end kitchen that is together with outdated flooring, worn doors, and old bathrooms creates a distorted picture. The area that has been relocated can give the impression of not blending with the house at all, and buyers may reason out that the whole renovation was either poorly planned or that it was done just to draw attention away from the real problems.
How to avoid it:
Look for commonality. The goal should not be to achieve a total perfect match; still, the quality level should be the same in all rooms.
8. Skipping Permits and Paperwork
Unpermitted work can cause a lot of problems: appraisal issues, trouble with inspections, problems with insurance, and headaches in negotiations with buyers. Even if the renovation looks fine, buyers hate uncertainty. If the work can’t be verified, it becomes a liability.
How to avoid it:
If a renovation requires permits, get them. Keep all the documents, such as records, receipts, warranty papers, and contractor contact info.
Ending Note!
Home renovations are not only a way to make the space more comfortable but also a means of value preservation of the property. It thus implies the necessity of a harmonious interplay between design, quality work, and practical upgrades, as well as buyer-friendly choices.
