Or say you're a barbecue fiend and the only feature missing from the dream homeyou've just purchased is a sprawling backyard patio with a natural-gas grillcustom-built with flagstone and river rock. Again, return on investment justisn't going to be a critical question. The improvement becomes more comparable topurchasing a depreciating asset that you feel is a necessity for your lifestyle —such as an automobile. When the barbecue aficionado adds a deluxe patio to a homethat's already the most expensive property in the neighborhood — perhapsdestroying the entire backyard in the process — there's a good chance that verylittle of the cost will be recouped in a subsequent sale.

An even better example might be a pool. If you're a person who simply has to haveone — fine. Put in a pool. But it's probably worth checking with a real estateprofessional first, just to make sure you fully understand that adding the poolmight actually lessen the property's value and make it more difficult to sellshould you later decide to move. That's the reality in many markets. That doesn'tnecessarily mean you shouldn't do it, especially if you're planning to live inthe home for the rest of your life. It just means it's worth knowing the cost andsalability impacts at the front end — even if they're not going to deter you frompursuing the project.

While spending several thousand dollars on your home right before you sell itmight not sound very appealing, it's not uncommon for the right work to more thanpay for itself in a higher selling price and shorter marketing time.

Consult with an experienced real estate agent to learn what improvements willmake your home more marketable in comparison to similar properties that are now —or recently have been — on the market in your area.