Home improvements that aren't worth it
 

There are plenty of threads on upgrades that you should get on your new home. This isn't one of those threads.

Many of us bought a pre-owned home that we otherwise love but have upgrades that just aren't worth it.

My list includes:

Built in vacuum. While it is nice, it is I just don't use it that much as I thought I would. Even with a self storing hose. My wife doesn't vacuum much, she is indifferent.

Vented gas fireplace. It's nice for a few weeks this time of year but the cost could be better allocated elsewhere.

Agree about the vacuum. Have robot that sweeps and mops. Don’t have to be home, and return to dock, charging, then resume vacuum and mop. Keep old vacuum to get dirt out of the multi track sliders

Agree with Central Vac. Disagree with fireplace because we like the ambience they give off when used.

I would put Crown Moulding on the list of useless upgrades. It makes a place look too formal, too "up north" and too "old people live here." Same with dark heavy furniture. I don't care how Thomasville, Ethan Allen, or custom it is, dark heavy furniture looks too "up north" too formal, and too "old people."

IMHO.

Agree on both, especially the central vac. Those are difficult/costly to install on finished construction unless you have an unfinished basement, which Villages homes do not. The ambiance of the vented gas fireplace eventually wears off and doesn’t justify the expense. Plus, for a much cheaper price you can get an outdoor propane fire pit to occasionally scratch the itch of sitting by a fire.

I would maybe add “storm doors” - Everyone had them back in Colorado, not sure how important they are here in Florida.

Screens on windows.

Palm Trees in Yards

Live oaks

Definitely Crown Molding
 

Crown molding and painted driveways for me. What a waste. They wanted 10k when we built our house for crown throughout.

Totally agree. I also have never understood all of the antiques here. When I moved here, I wanted fresh, light, FL decor. I also did some antique dealing back home and after researching, I learned that antiques sell down here for 10 cents on the dollar because so many bring them here and there is no market for them. I did keep a couple of european bars and I stripped down and painted to make them FL friendly. I used to pop into estate sales now and then and it was just sad how many formerly nice antiques were donated becuase nobody buys them here.

This is the time of year when many love to sleep with the windows open. You don't do that without screens.
I totally agree on the palm trees. I wish my neighbors would get rid of theirs.

Robot lawn mower. I think my neighbors paid over $2000.

My neighbors lawn looks like crap. It cuts too short and sometimes misses spots, but they supposedly can't leave it normal height like everyone else since St Augustine grass is too thick that it can get stuck so it runs every couple of days. So you have the 3 adjoining lawns all the same height but theirs is 2" shorter.

I pay $80/month and my lawn looks normal and they run a trimmer around my landscaping beds each time they cut.

Lipstick on a pig!
 

All cosmetic upgrades. No matter what you do or how much you spend, your house will still be a cookie cutter copy of all the other houses & will still look pretty much the same as all the rest. You can put lipstick on a pig but it's still a pig.

As a contractor, I have learned homes with neutral colors sell quickly. Homes with different color walls in each room, different types of flooring, mismatched cabinetry, mismatched tiles, and wall paper are difficut to sell.

Several Interior designers have taught me this rule of thumb: bring color into a room through fabric, art work, and accessories. Always keep walls and flooring neutral and the same color throughout the home.

I agree with Palm Trees. They need constant maintenance.

way too funny. 'fresh FL decor' really there's no such thing. That 'trend' was set by the Northeasterners from watching TV LOL. As for antiques, that's up to the buyer, I've known a lot of people that hunt them down for specific reasons (some that mystify me) but mostly becuase they are built better than new items.

then I guess they don't understand the lawn....

crown is one thing, but the driveway that's different it's called protection.

who does that???

Stacked stone landscaping, granite countertops, murals on walls, swimming pools in backyards

When in Rome……

Wow!
 

I use my pool EVERY day all summer. I can have my coffee in the morning, cocktail in the evening, and know who has been in it..and how clean it is. When my pool was 86 degrees in the summer we took a temperature gun to the neighborhood pool…and it was 102 degrees. So totally disagree with that one.
Many of us actually cook here…so our upgraded kitchens are important!
So..the only one I agree with here is the murals!

Exactly why I look for furniture down here for our condo up North. Furniture from our previous house was too large for the new condo so needed smaller items. Found a beautiful table and chairs for kitchen and they all fit in our vehicle for transport.

Agree about pools! This year was our first summer here, and we were very disappointed to find out the pools were too hot to enjoy in Aug/Sept. Not refreshing at all. We aren’t winter swimmers, so now our swimming season has become quite short. Would definitely have a pool built if we had a pool-sized lot.

Disagree about painted driveways if done tastefully with ARC approval. All of the painted driveways on my new-ish street look far better than the original driveways (including ours, which we will have painted eventually).

It’s all relative to what you can afford.

Decorate and upgrade to what YOU like, not what some HGTV flavor-of-the-month trend says is “in”.

I got a kick out of “Fresh FL decor”. I think beachy-boaty themed homes in pastels are an absolute cliche, but to each their own.

In The Villages, pools are a good upgrade.

Granite countertops are becoming dated, quartz is the trend now, although it will change. But an upgrade to the kitchen is a great vestment, the kitchen is the first thing you see when you walk into a house.

Crown molding, and painted driveways. I like screens on the windows to get fresh air in the house.

not do
 

Got with a painted driveway I would never pay for that BUT painted garage oh yah that's great

Concrete don’t need no protection, now bricked driveway need fences :shrug:

Granite countertops when nothing wrong with old ones. Tile floors, Loud, slick, and hard on bare feet.:cryin2:

Or keep up with jones.:)

Love when some paint their driveways then won’t park on them or run security tape to keep vehicles off. Like they do with brick driveways. Like neighbors want put up with that.

In terms of resale value, I don't think any upgrades are worth it because you will not recover the cost. If you are lucky, you will get back half of what you paid. I haven't done a single upgrade to my house. But when I sell it, I will price it correctly, and I think it will sell very quickly because it will be the lowest price in the neighborhood. In hindsight, I wish I had replaced the flooring before I moved in. Also, if you replace the flooring, I recommend using the same flooring throughout the house, and no carpet.

When you buy a house, make sure that it has a 2-car garage and a golf cart garage. That is something that is difficult to upgrade. There are some 3-bedroom houses in my neighborhood that have a 1.5-car garage. Those people are constantly juggling their vehicles.

Totally agree.

Do it after much cheaper

Protection from what? My bare concrete driveway and patios look as good as new.

Tiny backyard "swimming" pools.

When it comes to pools the things to consider are the expensive upkeep and when you go to sell the house, your size of potential buyers is much smaller as the majority of buyers do not want a home pool.

I would not live here without a pool in my yard. We only pay $135 a month for cleaning and chemicals. Not expensive. The demand for resale pool homes is very large. My home is not on the market and I have had offers.
I am very happy with the crown moulding no carpeting, paver driveway and walkway and our palm trees. I feel my house looks finished. I find the plain cement driveways to be an eyesore.

Upgrades
 

When we looked at homes in TV, we saw so many had not been updated. They looked old and tired. We quickly looked past those and eventually bought a new home that we added things to after the sale. We love our crown molding as it makes the living areas look finished. We put in closet organizer shelving and enclosed our lanai to make a sunroom for additional square footage. Haven't regretted any of that. Each year we do some kind of upgrade to our house to keep it current. Last year we took out all the carpeting and installed hardwood flooring so now all floors are hard surface. We've freshened our landscaping twice over the 12 years we've lived here. Not all the upgrades will increase the price of the house, BUT it will make our house more competitive in the marketplace. (I was a realtor for many years)

I have had central vac with hide away hose since 2009 and love it. Four years ago I bought two robotic vacs because I have rescue dogs, I only have area rugs and use the robotic vac every other day and love them. I still use the central vac on occasion. I also have had a non vented propane fireplace since 2009 and love it on mornings like today to take the chill out of the air. I would do both again. That's my experience and I am a bachelor!