Response to MSN Real Estate Article
"8 Most Overrated Home Projects"
Part 2

Part 1

4. Marble counters (or other porous surfaces)

There is nothing more luxurious than natural stones or hardwoods. Marble countertops, I don’t have any! I chose to go with a manmade Quartz countertop. I paid more for the quartz than I would have for marble. I installed quartz because I thought it was the better product that suited the way both my wife and I cook. I don’t think that my manmade quartz has the same class as marble or granite but it’s what I wanted, not what may have made economic sense or what the return on my investment will be if I sell my home.

I live in a single story bungalow. I do have sliding glass doors off my bedroom that go out onto a patio and in the spring, summer and fall I use the patio quite a lot. I have never considered my patio to be living space. I have never seen a real estate listing that includes any deck as living space! A deck is expensive to build and maintain, however if you will use it, I see nothing wrong in having it. To build or remodel anything for the sake of doing it is a waste. So again we go back to it’s a lifestyle decision and will it provide pleasure. It is not an economic decision, unless you can’t afford it, even if you want it.

6. Elaborate home theaters

Of all of the statements in the article this one is probably the most ridiculous. Why would a homeowner invest in a $20,000 home theater when he can get the same thing in a cardboard box for $3,500 or less? From now on we will remove all of the front row seats at concerts or any other entertainment scenario. No more box or front row seats at sporting events and while we are at it let’s remove all of the business and first class seats from airplanes. Is this the Hyundai Accent all over again? What if the person who wants to buy your home doesn’t like your home theater? Tough! Let them buy another home!

We don’t have a home theater, because both my wife and I suffer from hearing loss and would not appreciate the high sound qualities and more than that we are not big television or DVD watchers. But that is our lifestyle. To say to someone whose family may spend hours watching movies or sporting events that there is no benefit to a home theater is the same as saying there is no benefit to having seats at the Super Bowl on the 50 yard line.

7. Hot tub

Homeowners are turning them into raised beds for gardening, because they take too much time to maintain and they are too difficult and expensive to remove. Having a hot tub turns your backyard into a 70’s or 80’s time machine. The suggestion is that if you must have a hot tub you should get a portable unit so that you can hide it when you sell your home.

Possibly I can see the point about maintenance time. However, I do not understand the comment about the expense and difficulty in removing them.

I don’t own a hot tub. It’s not my family’s lifestyle. I also do not have a swimming pool. The last two homes we had were in-ground swimming pool equipped when we bought them, but I found that that the family really didn’t use them that much and more importantly when they did, we ended up babysitting the neighbors kids, a responsibility that neither my wife or I really didn’t want. But I digress.

In my opinion this is a lifestyle decision. If you are buying a hot tub to keep up with the next door neighbor, than it is a dumb purchase. If it is because you would prefer to jump in the hot tub after work rather than the whirlpool tub – then go for it! Thousands of new hot tubs are sold every year. To say that you should by a portable and hide it when you sell your home really makes little sense. To some buyers seeing that hot tub installed and bubbling away may be the reason why they buy your home over the home of the person who wrote the MSN article.

8. Overly complicated home automation

Of all the items listed in the 8 most overrated home projects, this one probably made the most sense because it didn’t proceed to discuss what will happen to your investment when you attempt to sell your home.

Home automation covers a gambit of electronic and computer controlled equipment. Most of us have some level of home automation. A programmable thermostat that turns the furnace and/or air conditioning on and off or adjusts temperature settings at different times of the day or night, an outdoor light that turns on when someone approaches, an underground sprinkler system that automatically turns itself on and off at different times on different days are the simplest and probably the most common home automation products. From these simple systems you can go to more complex systems where you can turn groups of lights on, off or adjust the brightness from different locations within the home. Then there are the computer controlled systems that handle almost every electrically powered function in the home all from a computer, iPad or upscale cell phone.

Computer controlled systems operate no differently than our home computers. The manufacturers are constantly upgrading the software and hardware to give more and more features. We all know that even the best computer hardware and software do funny things at times and we respond by re-booting the computer. I personally know of one very complex home automation system that every time the dining room lights were dimmed the garage door opened. It took 3 months to obtain a software fix to prevent that from happening.

The article is 100% correct in this regard, unless you have deep pockets, a high level of patience and low level of frustration stay with the “KISS” principal. “Keep it simple, stupid.”

To sum up:

To make decisions on your lifestyle based on the resale value of your home makes little sense. Life is too short not to have the toys that we can truly afford, when we want them. Who is to say what will drive the real estate market 5 years from now, I guarantee that nobody really knows. If you had asked the real estate experts on September 14, 2008 if investing in real estate was a smart move very few would have said no. Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy on September 15, 2008!

Note: I meant no disrespect for anyone who drives a Hyundai Accent or stays at a Motel 6. This article is all about buying what we can afford that suits are lifestyle. I do not drive a BMW, Lexus or Mercedes. I drive a Dodge 300 and I generally stay at Marriott hotels.