Have you overimproved your home?
Home improvement spending is frequently justified because it adds to a home’s value when it’s time to sell. And it often works out great. But there are dangers to look out for.
“A lot of people who overimproved did a cash-out refinancing when rates were at a low, expecting housing prices to continue going up and up,” says Sal Alfano, editorial director for Remodeling Magazine in Washington. “But in some places, like the Midwest, prices have already stopped climbing.”
With an average kitchen remodel alone costing $44,000, it’s easier than you might think to turn the cost-versus-value equation on its head.