Not every home improvement pays you back when you sell. Some — like a fresh coat of paint or a modest kitchen refresh — return far more than they cost. Others, like custom windows, a swimming pool, or elaborate landscaping, often cost sellers thousands, with little to no recovery at closing. One London couple spent $70,000 trying to make their home "perfect" before selling and still received an offer $36,000 below their asking price — because the money went toward things buyers don't actually pay for. Knowing the difference before you spend a dollar is what protects your equity.
Every year, homeowners in London, Ontario unknowingly leave thousands of dollars on the table when they sell — not for the reason most people assume. They lose it because they spend money on the wrong improvements, or they fail to make the small, inexpensive fixes that actually return the most value.
Not all repairs are equal. Some inexpensive fixes generate many times their cost in added home value. Others — costly, well-intentioned improvements — return little or nothing at closing. Knowing which is which, before you spend a dollar, is the difference between improving your equity and quietly eroding it.
The Trap Most Homeowners Fall Into
There are two ways to approach home improvements: spend on your home because it's where you live and you want it to feel right, or spend strategically because you're preparing to sell. You rarely get both at once — and many homeowners trip over exactly this distinction.
Consider a real example. A London couple purchased their home for $690,000 a few years ago. Over time, they spent more than $70,000 making it the home they wanted to live in. When they listed it for sale at $835,000, their best offer came in at $799,000 — $36,000 below asking, and well short of what their renovation spending might have suggested.
Their mistake wasn't spending money. It was spending it on things that mattered to them personally but weren't what buyers actually pay for. Spending $70,000 on a home doesn't automatically add $70,000 — or anything close to it — to its market value. Improvements have to align with what the market rewards, not just personal preference.
What Actually Pays Off
Painting. This is consistently one of the highest-return improvements available. A professionally painted interior recovers close to its full cost—and that's before accounting for the bigger benefit: a freshly painted home tends to sell faster, saving thousands in carrying costs, interest, and taxes during the listing period. If you're choosing where to spend limited dollars, fixing cracked front steps and painting the entry and front door usually beats addressing less visible structural issues.
The kitchen. For most buyers, the kitchen is the emotional centre of the home — which means it carries the most profit potential of any room. You don't need a full remodel to capture this value. Refreshing cabinets through sanding, staining, or painting, replacing dated hardware, and updating the sink and fixtures can transform the room's feel for a modest cost.
Decks and enclosed patios. Most exterior projects underperform, but this is the exception. A deck or enclosed patio typically recoups at least 90% of its cost in added value — especially valuable if you'll be living in the home for a few more years before selling.
An extra bathroom. A second bathroom typically pays for itself. A full bathroom addition with quality finishes adds more value to a home.
What to Leave Alone
Replacing windows and doors. Even energy-efficient upgrades typically return only 36% to 53% of their cost — a poor ratio compared to most other improvements. By contrast, roughly $1,280 spent on caulking and insulation can yield over 70% in return. The exception is genuinely failing windows that are old and leaking — replace those, but stick to standard sizes. Custom shapes, bays, and bows that aren't visible from the street are money spent for your own enjoyment, not for resale value.
Swimming pools. Pools carry little resale value in most markets, including London. They turn off more buyers than they attract, largely because of ongoing maintenance costs and liability concerns. Think carefully before investing in a pool purely to increase your home's sale price — it rarely works that way.
Elaborate gardens, walls, and fences. Extensive landscaping is one of the biggest money losers in home improvement. Most buyers weigh the time and cost of maintaining elaborate grounds rather than being drawn in by them. That said, landscaping that's noticeably behind the rest of the neighbourhood can work against you by making your home feel like the weak link on the street. The goal is to stay in harmony with what's typical in the neighbourhood — not to lead the neighbourhood in landscaping investment.
Purely functional or structural work. Here's an uncomfortable truth: many of the improvements that make the most difference to your day-to-day comfort as a homeowner deliver the least in resale value. A new plumbing system improves living in the home, but rarely recoups its cost unless you stay long enough to enjoy it yourself. That said, when something genuinely fails — a water heater, an HVAC system, a foundation issue — you don't have a choice. Fix what's broken. Just be cautious about proactively replacing something that isn't.
The Bottom Line
Spending money on your home before selling isn't inherently good or bad — it depends entirely on where that money goes. The improvements that align with what buyers actually value return real money at closing. The ones that reflect personal taste, no matter how well executed, often don't.
If you're getting ready to sell in London and want an honest read on which improvements are worth your time and money — and which ones to skip entirely — that's exactly the conversation to have before you spend a dollar.
Know what's actually worth fixing before you list. Reach out for a private conversation and let's walk through your home together. No pressure, no pitch.
For the complete selling framework: How Selling Your Home Actually Works in London, Ontario
