When you have finally decided to do some improvements to your home in order to put it up on the market, you may find yourself tempted to do some DIY projects. After all, all improvements might be able to give you a better value on the house and everything you invested will come back to you, right? The truth is a bit different than that!
There are a number of projects that, if you end up doing, they may make your house lose value or just put off potential buyers from wanting to make the purchase. Or they may challenge the value of your house because they believe the changes they will have to do to the property take away from the value. We have gathered here some of the most common mistakes sellers make when they prepare their houses for appraisals and viewings.
Before you start to make changes to your house, by yourself or by hiring a professional team, have a look at our list! Maybe it will make you rethink some of the decorating choices you want to make. Let us know if you have ever considered any of the projects listed below!
1. Too Much Wallpaper
Do not take us wrong, if you plan to put your property on the market and you have a wallpaper accent wall or there is wallpaper in your bathroom, it will not bring down the value of your house. It is okay to have some wallpaper. But due to the texture and colors it can sometimes have, it can end up being an overwhelming choice for someone else that does not share your taste in decorating. Moreover, we all know how hard it is to remove, so for someone that does not fancy wallpaper as much as you, it will be a headache and a point against placing an offer.
You can find another project to make the walls of your home more appealing, such as fresh quality paint in neutral colors. If you find yourself close to a showing or open house and you have the time, it is also an idea to take off the wallpaper and repaint the walls. That way it will not be a point of contention or give the buyers any reason to comment on the state of the walls.
My parents moved into a house some years ago and there was wallpaper all over the place. My dad wasn’t able to help with removing it and my mom said there were days she was in tears from fighting to get it off the walls.
Wallpaper is so very last-century, unless they find a way to make it much more easily removable.
They have a claw wheel in Walmart that makes small holes in the paper.THEN spray hot 3 parts HOT water to 1 part vinegar. Let sit for 5 minutes. Spray next piece while waiting. Start with previous PREVIOUS UPPER CORNER. Slowly pull DIAGONALY. BEFORE starting next piece, puncture next piece and spray with HOT vinegar. Respraying remaining paper backing on previous paper and use putty knife. 35 yrs experience. Good luck!
Sue Harris, we did exactly as you mention and it was no piece of cake. Still was a massive pain in the next. Add to that the caked on glue. Could not remove it totally. Actually got an estimate to re drywall the house. The sticker price talked me out of it quickly. Not saying you are not accurate in your assessment. Just giving my experience.
Removing wallpaper is very challenging. It is a slow process. One particular house we moved in to had wallpaper in almost every room, so I know! If the wall was prepped correctly prior to paper placement, it was better, but it still is a messy slow project so be prepared. Was removal worth it? ABSOLUTELY!
I’m sure new homeowners are dieing to drench their walls in vinegar. It’s not quite a “welcome home” smell. And about those ceilings… how does one go about removing curry stains from the kitchen ceiling?
When i used to hang wallpaper i would charge more to remove wallpaper than i did to hang it.
There is a radon for that.
There are alternatives worth considering, depending on the condition and type of wallpaper and what you plan on doing in its place.
Worth considering
Sunrooms are a turnoff. They’re not exactly fully indoors, and on a sunny day, you can feel like you are in a baking box of glare. They’re not really outdoors either: are you feeling the breeze of the spring day, or the smell of fall leaves? No. They never look like an integrated part of the house, and they never have the feel of say, a living room that has a wall with some floor-to-ceiling windows. THAT looks luxurious. Sunrooms are made of dozens of components and they always look DIY. Whenever I’ve shopped a house with a sunroom, I think in terms of turning it into a screened porch, or tearing it off altogether.
I guess difference of opinion is what makes the world go round. For me, being disabled and elderly, having a sunroom to sit in would be such a blessing. When you are inside most of the time and long for your garden space, the illusion of being outside would be magical. I long for nature, the rustle of the leaves, the buzzing of bees, the color of all the beautiful flowers and the chirping of birds. I’ve seen sun rooms where the light and airflow can be adjusted by the window treatments
. I still will wish and hope for mine.
I agree, CarolAnn. A sunroom can be a wonderful place to enjoy the outdoors, esp. if you’re unable to GO outdoors.
I hope you get yours soon!
You are making a gross generalization on sunrooms that is not accurate or true. Our sunroom has windows across the front which open. It also has a split A/C/heat pump It’s delightful and gets more use than any other rooms but kitchen. There are different sunrooms just like there are different houses.
An interesting discussion is worth comment. I think that you ought to write more about this subject matter, it may not be a taboo matter but usually people don’t discuss these topics. To the next! All the best!!
Hi,
Want to decorate my Garden Please help.
Deaco Jones, my experience with that method was not pleasant either. It was time-consuming and messy. The top layer of paper came off easily. The backing paper did not, and spraying it with the hot water/vinegar was not a good idea. Even gently using a plastic putty knife damaged the outer layer of the sheetrock itself; that is never good, and this was a bathroom. I learned you can paint over wallpaper with an oil based primer, let it dry thoroughly, and then paint over the primer with an acrylic/latex paint. So that’s what I did and 3 yrs. later it still looks great. If your wallpaper has some loose corners or edges, you need to re-glue those before applying the primer. The primer did have some odor, so best if you have some ventilation.