Why I'm No Longer Making Any Improvements to My Home

Recently, a friend of mine reached out to ask for the name of the company we used to finish our basement five or so years ago. We got into the topic of home improvements, and she asked whether I had any projects on the horizon.

My answer? An emphatic no.

Since I've already done several home improvement projects, I don't have any high-priority ones on my list. Are there smaller things about my home I might want to change? Sure. But I've already made the big improvements. So I don't feel the need to dip into my savings account and spend on home improvements that won't really add much to my quality of life.

But that's not the only reason I'm no longer planning to make home improvements. I also don't think it will be necessary for the purpose of selling my home, and I don't want to make my property taxes an even bigger financial burden.

My home is likely to sell as-is

Investing in home improvements is a great way to make your home more marketable. In some cases, it could be worth it to sink $40,000 into a kitchen remodel if that spells the difference between getting a decent price for your home and getting seriously lowballed.

But a big reason I'm not doing more home improvements is that property values have soared where I live. These days, homes are easily selling for 30% more than they were a few years ago -- without improvements. So the way I see it, why should I spend money to increase my home's resale value when I can already sell it for a lot more than what I paid?

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And it's not just my area where home values have taken off. During the first quarter of 2014, the median U.S. home sold for $275,200. During the first quarter of the current year, the median property sold for $420,800. So chances are, I'm not the only homeowner who doesn't need to pay for improvements to get a higher sale price.

I don't want my property tax bill to increase

I live in a state where property taxes are expensive to begin with -- some of the highest in the country, in fact. My town also has one of the higher tax rates in my county. Because of this, many people in my town pay more in property taxes than for their actual mortgage. Making matters worse is that homes are assessed in my town once every year. This means that your property tax bill has the potential to increase every single year.

Often, making notable home improvements will result in a property tax increase. You won't necessarily see this happen if you replace the blinds in your dining room with nicer ones. But an obvious improvement, like renovating your kitchen, will have an impact.

Because I already pay such a fortune for property taxes each year, I don't want to do anything to cause that bill to increase, so I won't make major improvements to my home.

Think carefully before improving your home

If you're planning to make home improvements, you clearly know to budget for the cost of the work itself. But think about the hidden cost -- a higher property tax bill -- before moving forward with renovations.

Ultimately, if there's an improvement to be made to your home that could enhance your quality of life, then it could be worth the cost and property tax hike. But that's not my situation. I'm fairly happy with my home, so while I'm willing to pay for repairs, I'm not planning to do anything to make my home nicer for the foreseeable future.