[Villagesgal]

Painted driveways look dated and terrible after a few years and need to be redone. What a waste of money. Painted garage floors are another waste of money. Nothing wrong with concrete. If a new buyer wants it, they can have it done to their taste. As far as interior flooring goes, same thing, you may love that shade of wood floor and buyers may hate it. Don't chase what you think buyers would like. Do renovations that you like and will enjoy otherwise you're just wasting your money.

[fdpaq0580]

Originally Posted by Villagesgal

Painted driveways look dated and terrible after a few years and need to be redone. What a waste of money. Painted garage floors are another waste of money. Nothing wrong with concrete. If a new buyer wants it, they can have it done to their taste. As far as interior flooring goes, same thing, you may love that shade of wood floor and buyers may hate it. Don't chase what you think buyers would like. Do renovations that you like and will enjoy otherwise you're just wasting your money.

Total agreement. Unless you are planning to flip the house, this is supposed to be your HOME. It should be what you want, not what others think you should or shouldn't have. The only one you need to please is you!

[coffeebean]

Originally Posted by Papa_lecki

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.

The kitchen is also the place that everyone hangs out when social gathering.

[coffeebean]

Originally Posted by Topspinmo

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.

Seems the taping off is just to let the driveway dry and cure. Do people in you neighborhood actually leave the security tape up all the time? Seems excessive; no?

[coffeebean]

Originally Posted by MSGirl

I agree with the crown molding! It does say old folks live here! When my daughter was building her house, her designer advised her not to get crown molding! She said young folks want a more modern look.
Add to the list- painting your driveway. It wears over time and actually begins to age the house. Looks beautiful in the beginning- later not so much. Too much upkeep. Just power wash the driveway! It’s a driveway after all.

I agree about the crown molding. It not only screams "old folks live here" but, to me, also makes the rooms appear smaller and the ceilings not as high.

Regarding the plain concrete driveways......I much prefer pavers which appear "richer" to me than painted driveways. But.....that is just my opinion.

[Nana2Teddy]

Originally Posted by Topspinmo

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.

Hasn’t happened on my street yet. Everyone parks in their garage, including us.

[patfla06]

Originally Posted by JSR22

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.

We had a large pool, hot tub and outdoor kitchen in our Tampa house for
17 years. Now we no longer want any of those things. Too much responsibility
and been there done that!

[patfla06]

Originally Posted by Pennyt

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 think we are the last people in T.V. that still have and LOVE carpet.

[2luke2]

I would agree with crown molding, different color in every room, flower/beach/etc patterns on everything. Though I would also say that all these are personal preferences for each of us.

However I would disagree with the pool/spa comment on two angles, it's definitely worth it as homes with pools sell and rent for a lot more here. We used ours almost every day, even when we aren't in it we are watching the water falls from inside our offices. We even use the spa during the colder days after a quick heating. So again, I guess it boils down to personal preference. My wife is a chemist and actually likes the challenge to keep the pool perfect haha! So we haven't paid for much in regards to maintenance that we weren't happy to pay for the benefits it affords us.

So like most everything, to each their own, I try not to judge, though we all have our own opinions. The difference between most, is that some just like to try and push theirs on others.

[Packer Fan]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

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.

I agree with same flooring through most of the house - not tile - Vinyl plank. However, the master should be carpet. Nobody likes stepping onto a cold floor. I have 2 rental homes in TV, and allmost all my renters have commented they like the carpet in the master bedroom. Tile is very hard on old knees, but LVP is softer. I would never buy a house with hard floors in the master bedroom. Sorry.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by garykoca427@gmail.com

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

I think that you only get FRESH AIR in through the open windows for a few hours after a rain. Other times you are better off with the air circulated through the A/C's filters. The outside air from the close by streets contains CO and CO2 from the noisy gas (non - catalytic convertered, non-mufflered exhaust. So it is NOT "fresh air". And the air often contains pollen.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by Packer Fan

I agree with same flooring through most of the house - not tile - Vinyl plank. However, the master should be carpet. Nobody likes stepping onto a cold floor. I have 2 rental homes in TV, and allmost all my renters have commented they like the carpet in the master bedroom. Tile is very hard on old knees, but LVP is softer. I would never buy a house with hard floors in the master bedroom. Sorry.

I prefer wearing slippers or sandals to having dirt catching wall to wall rugs in the bedroom. I prefer wood in the main bedroom.

[Packer Fan]

Originally Posted by Pat2015

There’s quite a few buyers that won’t buy a house here in FL that doesn’t have a pool, or at least room for a pool.

I have 2 pools within walking distance of my house that I can meet nice people at. Why anyone has their own in TV is beyond me - you never see anyone in them. The people who claim they are cooler - do you have a chiller? We love the pools in the summer. We didn't have to pay $80K for one and we don't have to pay upkeep.

[JSR22]

Originally Posted by Packer Fan

I have 2 pools within walking distance of my house that I can meet nice people at. Why anyone has their own in TV is beyond me - you never see anyone in them. The people who claim they are cooler - do you have a chiller? We love the pools in the summer. We didn't have to pay $80K for one and we don't have to pay upkeep.

I would not live here without a pool. Our pool is used daily. There is nothing like jumping into the pool in the morning and floating n the pool in the evening looking up at the stars. Worth every dollar we paid.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by Packer Fan

I have 2 pools within walking distance of my house that I can meet nice people at. Why anyone has their own in TV is beyond me - you never see anyone in them. The people who claim they are cooler - do you have a chiller? We love the pools in the summer. We didn't have to pay $80K for one and we don't have to pay upkeep.

I agree an individual pool is like throwing money away.