These home renovations tend to not pay back your investment.

Home investors have to walk a very thin line in their prospecting and repairing.  They want to find a home that others have ignored due to necessary repairs and updating.  However, they don’t want to waste money on improvements that simply look nice but fail to increase the home’s overall price.  Here are the top renovations that do not add much value to the home.

Grandiose Landscaping

Potential buyers will appreciate a well-kept lawn and may be somewhat attracted to a nice flower bed by the front door, but elaborate landscaping will not add to the home’s price.  Even worse, if the prospective buyer has no inclination to spend hours in the yard weeding, fertilizing and replanting then you may actually scare off a few buyers.  A simple lawn with low maintenance bushes are the best bet for most homes.

Pool

A new pool is extremely expensive and you may not recover even half of your investment when the property sells.  The average home buyer looks at the pool as a major expense and a potential problem in the form of injury or a lawsuit.  Some contracts in recent years have actually been structured to include filling in the pool with dirt and sod just to avoid potential problems.

Carpet throughout the Whole Home

It can be rather expensive to replace the carpet in an entire home.  Additionally, styles and preferences change over the course of time and homeowners may wish to have a more updated look in the home.  The need to replace a large amount of carpet sometime in the next 3-5 years would likely be daunting for most homeowners.  A better bet is to have hardwood and tile in the home.  They are easier to clean and most people appreciate the simple upkeep. Although the initial investment in hardwood or tile is more expensive, you are more likely to get a greater amount back when you sell the home.

More Home than the Rest of the Neighborhood

One of the fundamental basics of flipping homes is to search for a property that conforms to the neighborhood.  Never buy the absolute biggest home or the smallest home in the neighborhood.  They will be harder to sell.  Along the same thought process, never add more to a home that will make it vastly different from the neighborhood.  If all the properties on the street are single story homes then it makes no sense to tack on a double story addition.  Stick with the norm for the neighborhood in order to be able to move the property quickly.

Expensive Cosmetic Features

Some people like to brag about the Italian tile in the kitchen or the gold chandelier in the dining room when they are working on a remodel.  However, these expensive items add little to the value of the home.  It is better to make sure the home has plenty of lighting, has ample space and that the closets and cabinets are well organized.  Those expensive add-ons can be purchased by the next owner.

Basically, the best improvements you can make to an investment home are the ones that add function and space.  Anything else will simply be for show and potentially cost you too much in the long run.

Is your pool GREEN? Are you breeding mosquitoes? Do your neighbors hateyou? Even with an automatic pool robot, you may still find that yourpool gets out of balance after storms or during the hottest part ofseason.

Try these 3 steps to get your pool back to that inviting clearness, enticing you to dive on in.

Things You'll Need:
Chemicals: Shock, Algaecide, Clarifier, Chlorine.

Tools: Aquabot is nice, Broom, Vacuum A little dedicated time and energy

Step 1: Using the large net skim all debris from top of the pool and remove any debrisyou see at bottom of the pool. Backwash pool. Brush sides and bottom ofpool to remove algae growth.Run pool pump for 1 hour and then removeremaining debris and vacuum. If you have robot cleaner such as theaquabot pool cleaner, you will save a lot of manual labor on this step.It may take longer to brush than by hand. AT this point you can backwashif the pool is not visibly cleaner. Check your pump and if it shows inthe range of where it needs back washing then do so. Usually the gaugewill 10 when backwashing is needed. Continue running the pool pump.

Step 2: Clean pool = safer fun. Next shock pool. If algae has visible growth, use 2xthe amount of pool chemical you normally use. You should shock at leastonce a week during swim season and ideally once every 3-5 days.Make sureto distribute mostly in the deep end but you can also distribute aroundedges. If it settles into one place makes sure to brush it off and mixinto pool water so it doesn't damage surface.wait 1/2 - 2 hours forthings to settle and brush any areas that look bad. Keep the Filter(pool pump) running.

Step 3: If shock did not clean up the visible algae; then brush well, and add a goodalgaecide. Running the swimming pool pump for 12 hours. Run the robotguy around the pool again or vacuum by hand. Check gauges to see if youneed to backwash. If water is still looking filmy or cloudy addclarifier to remove the minute particles from the water. After theclarifier has had about 4 hours to work you can then backwash pool againto flush out the filter. The clarifier is going to help make your poolreally shimmer and look inviting.

Step 4: Now here is some extra. Check your water level and add water if you need to. Thentake sample of water to you nearest pool supply store and have ittested (usually free). They will recommend adjustments to restore PH andchlorine levels. Keep the pool balanced weekly and free of debris andshock at minimum once a week during swim season and you will have littletrouble with a sparkling
clean pool!

Tips & Warnings: If you cannot get pool back into shape after doing this once;then decide whether it is worth it to drain the pool and start over.Pools are recommended to be drained every 3 years. Sometimes it isnecessary. Do this for spring cleaning your pool and also before fall sothat the pool will be easier to maintain year round. You cannot vacuumand backwash too much. Just make sure to keep water
levels up asyou back wash.Instructions are for in ground pool. If you have aboveground pool you will need to check manufacturer instructions. Sandfilters need sand replaced every 3 years for maximum efficiency. At endof year run filter cleaner through system.