When you’re selling your home, it is important to critically assess it as if you haven’t been living in it for years. We can get used to a space, our eyes conveniently sliding over features that are less than stellar.
Imagine yourself walking into a home for the first time and seeing a 60s decor, perhaps some bold patterned wallpaper, an avocado-coloured fridge and that hideous, yellowish cottage-cheese textured ceiling called a popcorn ceiling. How does that atmosphere make you feel? Would you buy that house?
The wallpaper and appliances are easy to deal with, but you might also be wondering if that ceiling poses a health risk because of asbestos. It begs the question, will getting rid of popcorn ceiling increase your home’s value? The short answer is yes. Read on to find out why.
Return on Investment for Getting Rid of Popcorn Ceiling
Even just a fresh coat of paint is estimated to garner a 60% return on investment (ROI), imagine the ROI of applying the coat of paint to a smooth light-reflecting ceiling surface. The exact ROI on popcorn ceiling removal depends on the size of your home and how quickly you want to sell it. As a general rule, the bigger and more expensive the home and the faster you want to sell it, the greater the rewards for removing popcorn ceilings. But even a smaller home, especially if you want to sell it quickly, can benefit from getting rid of popcorn ceiling. Many buyers today want to move into a space that doesn’t need additional work — and this is especially true if they are paying top dollar for it.
Why Does Getting Rid of Popcorn Ceiling Increase Home Value?
The bottom line is that today’s greater Victoria buyers consider a home with an outdated look or asbestos safety concerns to be a lower valued home. They add the cost of renovation into their estimation of the worth of the house, including the time and inconvenience.
You may be wondering why popcorn ceilings were ever a must-have trend in home design given the current opinion of them. There are some simple and compelling reasons for their previous popularity: they hide imperfections and they dampen sound. In fact, popcorn ceilings are still used in multi-residential buildings for these reasons, but today they don’t contain asbestos.
Improves Your Aesthetics
First impressions count in the real estate business. A professional staging can help reduce the tired feeling of an out-dated design, but it can’t totally erase the negative impact of features that are built in — features such as a popcorn ceiling. Today’s greater Victoria buyers value bright spaces that impart a feeling of openness and cleanliness.
Even if some decor features of the 50s and 60s (such as the avacado-coloured fridge or wallpaper) are making a come-back, they are used judiciously to reflect the cleaner, light-infused atmosphere of modern design. Furthermore, popcorn ceilings attract dust, increase allergic reactions and are hard to clean, adding to the downsides for today’s health conscious, light-loving buyer. Textured ceilings are simply too dark, dingy and oppressive to be desirable. For more, read: https://www.finestfinish.ca/blog/5-clues-its-time-for-popcorn-ceiling-removal-services/
Enhance Safety and Disclosure
If your popcorn ceilings were installed before the 1980s in greater Victoria., they could contain asbestos. Not only is this potentially hazardous if they are falling into disrepair, you are legally obligated to disclose that your property contains asbestos (if you are aware of this fact) when selling your house. Not many people will want to buy a house containing asbestos.
Hard to Work With
While doing heavy renovations before moving in isn’t something most people want to do, they might want to do small changes such as installing a light fixture, fan or hanging plant hook to the ceiling. This can be problematic with a popcorn ceiling. Drilling can release asbestos fibers which is a major health risk. The popcorn texture is also quite brittle and drilling into it can cause cracks and other damage. This issue is, perhaps, not as serious as the first two, but it might be enough to deter a potential buyer.
Ready to Increase Your Victoria Home’s Value By Removing Popcorn Ceiling?
If you think it is a good financial decision to remove your popcorn ceilings before you put your house on the market, it is best to hire professionals to do it. Popcorn ceiling removal is a particularly messy job, and you’ll want to hire experts who not only have years of experience, but who are also fastidious about clean-up.
In the Greater Victoria Area, the team at Finest Finish can help update your home’s ceilings safely, with meticulous attention to creating smooth light-reflecting surfaces and with a minimum of mess (as well as a thorough clean-up). Ready to get started? Contact us today to learn more about our services!
