Most HATED Home Upgrades You Should Avoid Before Selling!

Added: 2026-04-29

[00:00:00]All right, folks. These are the top trends slashupgrades that home buyers are telling me they just don't like about your home. I don't want to hurt anybody's feelings, but I also don't want anybody watching this channel to go invest in these upgrades or these trends and then be shocked when they go to sell their home that these home buyers just hate this about your home. Now, I guarantee you, you're probably going to have a couple on the list, but don't don't be too concerned about it. Doesn't mean that your house ain't going to sell. It just means I'd be careful when you're investing in your home for the sole purpose of selling your home if you're going to invest in the things that we're going to discuss in today's video. And why in the world should you listen to me? Well, I'm one of the top selling agents in Orange County, California. And to give myself a pat on the back, I'm working 60, 80 hours a week, and I'm not even exaggerating. And the reason why I even bring that up is to just let you know that I'm constantly in front of buyers and sellers. And this is my own personal experience. This isn't something I'm researching. It's something that I'm sharing with you that these are things that I have to overcome with buyers and sellers every single day of the week. All right, let's get into it. I did a video a few weeks back. I'll link it up here. This video talks about the upgrades that give the most bang for your buck. And this is from an appraiser's perspective and some data that I collected through my own open houses. And the number one area that buyers find the most value from an appraiser's perspective and from a home buyer's perspective is that kitchen. If you are selling your home, I want you to focus in on the kitchen. For a lot of families, that's the heart of the home.

[00:01:27]Now, don't kill me. I'm just keeping things real. And that is that quartz countertop with the gray marbling that goes off the side and that waterfall edge is trending out. So, if you have that, it's still lovely. I wouldn't replace it. But, if you are going to sell your home, I wouldn't do that. I would do a very simple quartz countertop without a lot of movement. I actually prefer a granite without a lot of movement. Quartzite is really what's trending right now. I love absolutely love marble countertops, but they're very hard to maintain. By the way, I also did a video on countertops, so I'll link it right here. I love that video.

[00:02:04]Anyway, quartz is a very affordable, but just understand that movement that looks like marble, that's kind of trending out, and I would not invest in that waterfall edge. It's expensive and it's kind of dating your house. I know. Don't kill me. Let's talk about the color of that kitchen. Now, this is a very, very controversial subject. I get in arguments with buyers and sellers all the time. What's trending, what's not trending, and honestly, who cares? But I can give you a rule of thumb, and that is just don't overdo the color. So, if you have a white kitchen, not everything's white. If you have a brown kitchen, not everything's brown. And if you have a gray kitchen, and I feel so bad for this, the color gray. I love color gray. In fact, it's one of my favorite colors that I wear, but if it's overdone, it's overdone. I have a house right now that I can't sell because everything's brown. You got brown countertops, you got brown cabinets, you got brown floors, and there's not a lot of texture. So, if you have a white kitchen, white kitchens will always be in style. You just don't want to overdo all the white. Okay? Maybe you have a different contrasting countertop or maybe you change out the pools. The thing that's really not trending is that farmhouse kind of style where you have the white cabinets, subwo tile, you have black handles, and you drop down cage lighting. That's that rod iron black.

[00:03:13]Like, that's done over and over and over again. add your personality into it. Add a little texture. And I do want to bring this up because I've been seeing this in a lot of homes. A lot of you painted islands or cabinets a really bright color, which personally I love. I love it. However, when your buyer comes in, they're very offended because it's not neutral. Okay? Like, oh my gosh, I got to paint the island. It's turquoise. I just can't do turquoise. I think it adds a little bit of personality. However, just understand that the more style specific that you get, the less buyers are going to appreciate your style. even if you're cool and even if you have a great idea. So, if you are doing these improvements to sell your home, neutral is your friend. And in that kitchen, just don't overdo, you know, the repetitive color. Not too much brown, not too much gray, not too much white.

[00:03:57]And by the way, I've seen some beautiful gray kitchens where they add a lot of different textures and maybe they do the top cabinets gray and then maybe a lighter color wood down below on the bottom cabinets. It looks stunning. So color is not necessarily a deal breakaker, but the bright dramatic color could be because not as many people are going to like your style. I also want to talk about the oversized kitchen island.

[00:04:19]A lot of you are like, "Well, I'm going to redo the countertops anyway. I'll just make it really big." Just be careful. Like that large kitchen countertop is going to cost you a lot to install. And how many people do you need to fit around your island anyway, right?

[00:04:32]And then also it takes up a lot of space. So I would just say don't go too small, but don't go too large. A lot of you have double islands in your kitchen.

[00:04:39]I don't get that. I think it's just way chopped up and I don't think it's a great use of space. That's just my opinion. But when I'm showing buyers, you know, homes that have double islands or oversized islands, they're all like, "Do we really need that?" They're even talking about like ripping it out and putting something that adds a little bit more space for their everyday living.

[00:04:56]So, be careful with that one, too. Your buyers absolutely absolutely hate the microwave over the stove or cooktop.

[00:05:03]Now, a lot of you have those dual units where it microwaves and it cooks, like that's a bad investment because it doesn't microwave very good and it doesn't cook very good. But when your buyers come to your home and they see that microwave, whatever oven unit over the stove, they're just trying to figure out how to relocate it. And some of you don't have a lot of space. But microwaves don't take up that much room.

[00:05:22]You can stick it in a drawer, like they have those drawer microwaves, which is really good. So, I wouldn't recommend investing in a unit over your stove if you're thinking about it. Okay, this one kind of doesn't apply to this video, but a lot of you are tuning in for some design ideas. So, I'm going to give you a little bit of a heads up on this one.

[00:05:38]Stainless steel appliances are going to be trending out. I know, I know, I know you're going to hate me on this, but the panled refrigerator, the panled dishwasher is what's trending in right now. The buyers want a uniform kitchen look. And if you really look at your kitchen, what stands out when you walk into it? It's those stainless steel appliances. It's a little cold. It's not very warm. So, we're going to start seeing a lot more of that. Mark my words, in 5 years, we're going to see a lot more of that. So, if you're thinking about doing some renovations, you're like, "Oh, should I get that Sub-Zero refrigerator?" Most of the appliance packages right now are offering a panled version. So, something to consider about if you're making this investment.

[00:06:14]Another area that your buyer really cares about is the primary bathroom. I have some pet peeves and so do your buyers. And this is one area where I'm not even going to apologize because this is just bad planning. Bad. Like, what were you thinking? They take a standalone bathtub and they stick it in the shower. Like, I don't get that.

[00:06:31]What's the purpose? And please, for those of you who have this, tell me.

[00:06:35]Like, the first time I saw it, I was like, did they mean to do that? But why would you do that? You're taking a shower and then you're like looking down at that bathtub like, you know, I want to take a bath right now. Like, I don't get it. And then you're in a bath and you're in the shower. Like, it's claustrophobic.

[00:06:52]I don't get it. Your buyers don't get it either. So, if you're thinking about doing something like that, oh heck no. I would rather you have a smaller shower and then put the bathtub outside. Like, what are you thinking? What are you thinking? There's a lot of jibberjabber controversy over should we bathtub or should we not bathtub? So, a lot of you are like, "We never use our bathtub."

[00:07:12]Okay, I hear you. But if you're going to sell your house, your buyers think they are going to use their bathtub, especially if they have littles, right?

[00:07:18]They want to put their kids in the bathtub. But a lot of you are like, "We never use it." And so we're just going to update our primary bathroom cuz that's the way we like to live. I'm totally with you on that. If you don't use a bathtub, great. But when you go to sell your house, just remember you're selling your house trying to appeal to the masses. So I just lost a deal because it was a deal breakaker for this buyer because they wanted to have a bathtub. So when you're doing these improvements, when you're going to sell your house, just remember you're appealing to the masses. And if you're going to do a bathtub, I say do a standalone only because it's space saving. A lot of you hate it because it's hard to clean and a lot of you are like, "It's hard to get in there." This video is really intended on how to help you sell your home, not necessarily how to use your home. Quick intermission resource guide. So, I have a bunch of resource guides. A lot of you don't know that. It's free to you. It's linked down in the description. I'll link it right here as well. Here's an example of one.

[00:08:08]A homestaging checklist and a photo shoot checklist. Pretty cool, right? But there's a lot of other guides. There's a flooring guide. There's a countertop guide. There's a paint like our top paint selections. really really beneficial free to you. You can download it for free. And also, if you're looking for an agent, I highly suggest that you download our questions to ask a listing agent and the questions for a buyer's agent. Really important. And if you're looking for an agent to interview, please reach out to us. We have a referral network. I will link it right here. And we've been very successful in coordinating home buyers and home sellers with a really good agent. Who you hire really does matter. Now, don't forget to subscribe to my channel. Did you all catch that? I said it right.

[00:08:50]Subscribe. I've been saying subscribe.

[00:08:53]A lot of you are asking me, "Do you have a speech impediment?" No, I don't, but I used to. When I was a kid, I used to stutter. Stutter, stutter, stutter. You probably hear it in the video a little bit. I'm not perfect. All right, let's get back to it. Another feature your buyers just hate is the TV over the fireplace, the mantle. So, I don't know if y'all noticed, but these mega huge TVs are really trending right now. like huge, like gigantic, and they stick it above the fireplace and it's just way too high. So, I can't tell you how many times I bring a buyer in and they're all trying to figure out where they're going to put their jumbotron TV. So, just remember that if you're thinking about putting a fireplace in or a really fancy mantle, it might make sense to hold back, take that mantle off, and just make room for that mega TV. The other thing is a lot of you have those built-ins that were made for those smaller TVs. Your buyers hate that as well. They're like, "Well, where do I exactly figure out where I put the TV?"

[00:09:47]These buyers right now are looking for big TVs. I don't even watch TV. So, I can't relate. Oh my gosh. But I probably would want a big TV cuz my eyes are so bad right now. But just know if you're putting in a fireplace or if you're doing a built-in, think about the buyer's perspective. Larger TVs are really what's trending right now. Have you been to Costco? Like, they're huge.

[00:10:07]Your buyers are so dang fussy about their sinks. I can't tell you how many conversations I have with buyers regarding sinks, sinks in general. But let's talk about that kitchen sink. Now, there's two camps when it comes to sinks in a kitchen. There's the buyers, homeowners that love that oversized sink, large, huge sink. You can pile a bunch of dishes in there. Admittedly, that's my preference because I'm not a chef. Now, the people who actually cook and use their sink as a prepping area, like they'll there's like a division in the sink and then one side is a little bit higher for the vegetables. I don't get that. For those of you who know, please tell me why that's higher. Maybe it's for ease. You don't have to go all the way in this. I don't know. But anyway, and then there's the bigger section for dirty dishes. It's 50/50.

[00:10:48]Some buyers like divided sink and some like the oversized sink. That's really not a deal breaker for buyers. But what is a massive deal breaker is how those sinks are positioned on the countertop.

[00:11:00]So, you want to have your sink undermounted. Okay? You don't want your sink mounted on top of the countertop.

[00:11:06]That's not good. Your buyers hate it.

[00:11:09]They don't love it because all they're thinking is, "I got to rip up this entire counter and put a new counter in because I prefer an undermounted sink."

[00:11:17]That is so important. That also is true in those bathrooms. Your bathrooms, we want undermounted sinks. A lot of you have vessel sinks, which honestly I think is really cool, but let's be real, folks. Like those vessel sinks, they splash, right? And they take up counter space. So, if you're thinking about investing in sinks, just remember undermounted is the way to go. And vessel sinks are expensive. They're beautiful. They make a statement piece, but they're not very practical. And your buyers know that. Folks, I'm going to hurt a lot of people's feelings. That's why I'm leaving it to the end. And that is the topic of the barn door. Okay, let's just talk about the description of the door. It says barn door. So, what is a barn door doing in your traditional home? So, if you have a rustic home or if you're in the country and you have barn doors in your home, maybe that's appropriate. But a lot of us don't.

[00:12:03]We're just trying to replicate an older style rustic kind of a feel in our homes. Most the buyers come in and they want to rip it out. They want to put their artwork on the wall. And let's be fair, folks, like that barn door doesn't create a tremendous amount of privacy and it's not a great noise barrier. And your buyers are not liking it. When I'm showing properties, like I'm going to take that thing out. So, if you're thinking about investing in a barn door, I would say rethink it. Maybe a pocket door would be better or no door because most of the buyers that I'm showing homes to don't see the value in it. If you have it, great. Not trying to hurt anybody's feelings. I'm just saying not a great investment and it is trending out. A lot of you are asking, "Where is Audrey? She's not in her standard backdrop." Okay, so I'm in my house. My kitchen's right over there at 6:00 in the morning cuz I have a busy weekend and so this is the only place where I could find the proper light to record this. But anyway, I'm leaving this last one to the very end because I know you all are going to hate on me. You're going to hate on me and a lot of you might even unsubscribe.

[00:13:02]See, I'm a quick learner. Anyway, it's about the flooring choices in your home.

[00:13:07]I would say that's probably the number one biggest push back I get when buyers don't make an offer. It's they don't love the flooring in the home. So, carpet is not what's trending. However, I put carpet in my homes all the time.

[00:13:20]I'm going to recommend a low pile, not the shaggy stuff, okay? And we want it neutral. We don't want black and white.

[00:13:26]We want something that's a neutral color. Don't go dark brown. Don't go dark gray. Something beige neutral, low pile. Your buyers are hating on LDP right now. They think it's cheap. It feels cheap. And of course, there's varying different qualities of LVP or laminate. And I know a lot of you like, "Oh, I have to do it because my dogs and my kids." Listen, if you want to live on LVP or laminate, you do you. But if you're installing this for the sole purpose of selling your home, I just want you to rethink it. A lot of the higherend LVP is comparable in price to an engineered wood. And I'm always going to recommend an engineered wood over LVP. I've done a whole video on flooring. I'll link it right here. I love engineered floor. It just has a certain feel. It elevates the home. And as soon as I walk in the house, I can tell you right away whether or not it's LVP or laminate and so can your buyers.

[00:14:16]Now, I would say a good rule of thumb is if you are selling a luxury home in my area, I'm in Orange County, California, one of the top selling agents. And the reason why I tell you that is because I'm dealing with some of the higherend buyers, and when they walk into a property that's 2.5 million and above, in my area, 2.5 million above is considered a luxury home. They are not loving the LVP. Now, anything below that, I think it's really about the price point. It's about the quality of the home. I have LVP, luxury vinyl flooring, in my investment property. I would do it over and over and over again. I love the stuff. It's almost indestructible. It looks beautiful. The only thing I don't love about it is the sound it makes. It sounds a little plasticky, but I mean, it's fantastic. I don't ever have to replace it or I don't have to replace it for a very long time.

[00:15:03]So, I would just be careful with your flooring options. If you have a higherend home, I would spend the higherend finishes. And if you have a midsize or a lower range home, then you would just want to match that type of material with the price of your home.

[00:15:16]Okay? But what I see happening right now is I have some higherend homes that are putting some cheaper products and you're not fooling your buyer. A lot of you have that porcelain woodlook tile in your home. I don't love that either. I know why you do it. It's just hard to remove. The planks are usually smaller and the grout lines need to be tighter.

[00:15:32]It's indestructible as well. I like the look. Just understand that I do think that engineered wood look has a more elevated look. Once again, it's really about price point and back in the Tuscan era, a really expensive flooring option was that Versail pattern tumbled travertine with that wider grout that instantly dates your home. Any buyer that walks in that sees that, they just are going to rip it out. They think it dates your home. So, if you're thinking about putting that in your home, I say don't do it. I think it's beautiful. It just dates your home. I certainly hope I didn't offend anybody. And by the way, if you're watching this video and you're like, "Oh, she forgot about this one."

[00:16:07]Maybe you're a home buyer in the market and you're like, "I just can't stand it when homeowners do this." Or maybe you're just a homeowner trying to get some ideas and you're like, "Oh, I just hate that, too." Please comment down below. I love to learn from you. I mean, come on. I'm finally saying the word subscribe properly now. Anyway, I highly suggest that if you're selling your home, get that real estate professional in months before you put your house on the market. I think that's one of the biggest mistakes that homeowners make is they don't get that agent in there earlier. So anyway, if you're looking for an agent, you can contact us right here. We're happy to coordinate. I just want to say thanks so much for watching this video. I love you all. I love learning from you and thank you so much for allowing me in your home and in your life. All right, have a good one and I'll see you in the next video.