I didn't have resale in mind at all when I renovaved my apartment and the results have been a mixed bag as to whether they have had an positive effect or a negative effect on potential buyers.

I restored or replaced the plaster cornice on the entire first floor, and stabilized the original ceiling with mesh and a new coat of plaster. The cornice was priced by the running inch. Way too expensive with resale in mind and yet realtors and buyers alike have called the condition of the envelope of the apartment incomparable.

The doors in the apartment are custom, and based on the scale of what would have been original, and one room has a paneled end wall to match. The doors were $1000 a pop (there are only 7 total), and a good door at 1/3 the price would have sufficed. People love them, but they don't want to pay more for them. But with these things I won't lose money--I just won't have as much to turn over into the next house compared to units where they did cheaper renovations.
But--they may buy mine first because of condition.

Now the negative stuff.

I indulged in a couple pieces of conceptual architecture that have had a positive effect on buyers but also a negative effect on buyers--it puts people into two camps. I made my kitchen look smaller than it is, and people either get it, or they don't.

I did renovate my bathroom when I was going to sell specifically to put it on the market, and I left out a window, and used Daltile Rittenhouse Square and a non-cast iron tub when I would have used rectified subway and a cast iron tub (and maybe the window) if I had planned on staying. And actually, it's fine the way it is.

But mostly, I pretty much do things the way that I want and haven't really made resale much of a consideration. I am not likely to do something way out of scope to a house anyway.

The other thing is that in my profession it is very unusual to move someplace completely different, and you would never be unexpectedly transferred, you would move solely by choice. I am only qualified to work in one region of the country and although I am at a point where I would meet most reciprocity, I would not be likely to go someplace completely different, so my essential non-mobility has made sudden necessary resale a non issue for me.

What is OOTrs?

out of town'ers

Sorry, WIP, I reverted to an office jargon. Back in the day, OOTS meant "Out Of Town Stores".

BTW, your login says it all for me... I'm a constant WIP ;-)

Hey Pal, if I lived within a hundred miles of you I'd drive there to see your house IRL, and of course I would be reciprocal if you were up for it, but alas...

I had "resell" so much on my mind with my last house (new built) that once I was finished, I felt like I was living in someone else's house. Which is one reason why four years later, I was able to sell what was suppose to be my "dream house" that I designed.

With my current house, I decided it would be for us and I would not consider resale. My house is nothing like what you see in magazines, but most comment on how they like it, and it's "comfortable" like they want to plop down in a chair and stay awhile.

I am fortunate that if we sold, the house would not be the main selling point. I decided I wanted to purchase this place before I even stepped foot into the house. It's the land it's sitting on, and with the way land prices have been going, there is an equal possibility it would get sold and the house and out buildings cleared.

For every person who wants a first floor master bedroom, there's someone who doesn't.

For every person who needs a bathtub in every bathroom, there's someone who would change them all to huge, elaborate showers.

For every person who wants granite counter tops in the kitchen, there's someone who would prefer Corian, or Formica, or marble.

For every person who wants hardwood, there's someone who wants wall-to-wall carpet.

There's only so much you can do for resale.

Don't chose something you dislike just for resale value.

Do consider resale if you are doing something outside the norm. I remember a thread on the Buying/Selling Homes forum where someone was designing a new house and wanted to eliminate any trace of a formal dining room, as well as an eat-in kitchen. Wanted nothing but a breakfast bar in the family room. Many posters warned about resale value in that thread, with most saying to have a room that would for his family, but could easily be converted to a dining room if they ever sold.

Same thing with taking out all the bathtubs. Most people recommend leaving one in the house.

Decorate so that you can live in and enjoy the house. If you make radical changes, incorporate a way for other owners to easily change them.

Here's an example: My brother and SIL have a child who is physically disabled. They were debating between a wheelchair accessible addition to their house or buying an new house that had already been adapted for a wheelchair user.

What they found while house-hunting was that most handicapped-accessible additions were not well-thought-out. Most were just stuck onto the existing house without any thought to the traffic patterns in the house or how the house would look from the outside. They were basically functional, but ugly, patches on the existing house.

So they worked with an architect to add onto their house. They lost the windows in the dining room. They added a family room which they didn't have, a mud room/laundry room which they didn't have, an accessible bathroom with the most luxurious roll-in shower that looks like a spa, and a bedroom for my nephew.

You don't notice the lack of windows in the dining room because it is open-plan with the living room and get sunlight from there, as well as from the french doors that separate it from the family room.

As much as possible, there is nothing in the addition that screams "I am wheelchair accessible!" The doorways are wider, the shower doesn't have a step into it, there's a ramp up to the mudroom door. Probably the main thing is that most of the doors are pocket doors that are easy to slide open and don't get in the way of wheelchairs. But nearly everything is a stock fitting from regular building stores.

Future owners could turn the addition into a nice master suite if they changed out the french doors. It would also be possible to easily turn the mud room/laundry room into a small kitchenette and make the addition into a MIL apartment. Or the new owners could use the house as is. The key thing is that there are *options* for future owners. The house is not just suitable for persons with disabilities, the way some of the houses they looked at were.