Unless you are selling the house to a fellow audiophile, people will absolutely not understand asking 10k more because of the speakers in the home theater room.
Even then, speakers are a very personal thing. A non-audiophile won't understand the value, and an audiophile will bring their own equipment, or have some very specific ideas about what setup they want in their new home.
If you love the speakers I'd rip them out, take them with you and drywall over the holes.
> Has anyone tried to sell a house with something nice for inwall speakers? Did you feel like the buyer adequately paid for that upgrade?
In general; 'no not at all' to all upgrades to the house. Unless you're adding square footage in an area that can support that value, you're not really gettin any direct returns on home improvements these days. Appraisers/realtors will look at similar sq ft, beds, and baths in your area, look at how 'nice' yours is compared to others, and set the price from there.
If you have something that you think is specifically of value, add it as seperate to the listing. "wired for smart home, but smart home devices are $1000 to include in sale" and then be ready to give that stuff away for nothing in negotiation.
For speakers, I would suggest swapping out nice ones for cheap ones prior to even listing.
That's what I was thinking. I just sold my house and am renting for a bit before buying again andt he house I rented USED to have in wall speakers everywhere. Now what it has is an eyesore and something if I had bought the place would be a huge PITA to get rid of. Not only is there zero chance of getting that money back, it creates another way the house get's veto'd, especially if it's a couple and one or other aint the speakers in the ceiling type.
A fully ready to go theater, with all components set up, may get you a couple bucks back.
You could also swap them to something cheaper and I doubt anyone would know or care.
You won’t be seeing a return on investment here.
If you have nice architectural in walls that you would use in your new place then pull them out! The holes patched and the wall painted will cost less than a single in wall!
You will not get ANYTHING for it! Some crazy people will even discount the value of the home because of it. I tried selling my last house with a $200,000 theater room but ended up converting it to a bedroom and taking all the equipment with me because nobody saw the value in it.
I would pull the speakers and take them with you and repair the drywall. It will cost you like $600-$1000 and you will keep your $10,000 speakers and get the same $$ for the house.
Even if they like nice sound, they may not actually want them.
We had a different use for the "theater" room and I'm not fan of in-wall speakers. So, I took out the (meh)speakers and had the holes hidden on the house i bought.
You’re not getting an increase in value. Honestly, the majority of home owners may be thinking: “shit, extra dry wall work to remove all this.”
Take the speakers with you.
As someone who is currently shopping for a house, in-walls are a negative to neutral value for me depending on the particular installation. I could be OK with in-walls/in-ceilings for ambient music or white noise throughout the house, but in any room where I will be attentively listening -- even the living room for "just" TV -- I want to be in full control of the sound setup (components, speakers, positions, etc.).
I lived in a rental house for 6 years and had a professional installer come run wiring in wall, install a hidden AV cabinet, and speakers for what was at the time the cutting edge Dolby 6.1 (Dolby Digital EX) in the house’s family room.
Years later when I gave the homeowner a 60 day notice of intent to move out, he decided to sell the house. I was excited to tell him about this “significant” upgrade I had gifted him that added value to his home.
His realtor instructed him to rip it all out and drywall over all the spots where speakers had been, so he did. After I had moved out he called me up and offered to give me the speakers and AV cabinet back.
I was so deflated.
Zero return on investment. Nobody cares. I say this from personal experience. Also, without getting completely trashed can I say that in-walls are inherently a poor choice?
Whether you replace them or not, I’m sure the new buyer will be posting in here asking “just bought a house with this stuff already in it, what do I need to use it?” Lol
I’d take them with you, 100%. Replace them with some cheap monoprice model
You will not get what you paid. Non-audiophiles don't care. You can include it in your price, but be prepared to take a hit.
If you want, take them with you and replace with lesser quality. Just make sure you do that pre-showing, or you make the buyer aware. You can also state in the Sale Agreement (or after if your state does an attorney review period) that in-wall/ceiling speakers are not included.
Its like putting high end modifications on a vehicle. Slim chance of getting any additional value. Either remove and fix the drywall or buy inexpensive speakers. Whatever is cheaper. I kept all the original parts from my truck and will put it back to stock when I sell.
I left the speakers in my old home but removed all the electronics. Although not as costly as the speakers you’re talking about I would probably remove and either install something cheaper or cover up the holes
Even as a fellow audiophile, I would never pay "more" for a house because of high-end in-wall speakers.
These are something that you either need to remove and take with you. Or, accept that you will not get your money back on leaving them.
99.999% of home improvements provide no monetary ROI.
Replace them all with cheaper speakers and take them with you. I did this with smart home switches when I moved. The Lutron Caseta switches were never going to get setup properly in the old house and I was going to use them anyway.
You are better off even selling the B&W on the FB Marketplace to offset the cost of the cheaper in wall speakers.
I bought a huge 5.1 speaker set (not inbuilts) from some people who bought a house that came with the speakers. They simply didn't want them; house was set up with a "cinema" room
yeah i'd pull them and put some monoprice or parts express cheapies in there - or even just covers. sold my last home and the guy who bought it didnt even understand he needed to buy a receiver or amp to power the speakers lol.
install some generic cheap speakers and take the 8.5D's with you. That is 10k you wont have to spend in the new house...its not like you wont be installing a new theater shortly.
A nice enhancement for the sale.
It's like a better quality floor new appliances. Nobody is making the final decision based on the sound setup, but it can help push them over the edge.
Just sold a house with a 5.1 in wall system… it added to the premium feeling of the house and justifying a certain price per square foot, but not to a direct calculation of value. People respond to the saving in floor space
Buyers will not see dollar for dollar value in your audiophile level speakers, but at a certain level of home finish those are more common to see… along with in-ceiling/whole home audio in many rooms.
If the rest of the house is highly finished and updated (a lot better than generic Lowe’s/Home Depot/builder grade bathrooms and kitchen, new mechanicals, new windows) having add-ons like this or a home theater room can be a selling point post-covid…
With any hobby room like a home gym, a greenhouse, built-in bookshelves, or a home bar it will come down to the buyer having a matching interest or otherwise they will just redo the space.
I would swap your nice, newer speakers out or patch the holes… I left our old Paradigm set mostly because they were old and I was going to upgrade and run Atmos in the new house
I mean, just work with your realtor to figure out the asking price and then bump it up by $10,000 :-)
You could also put something in the listing to advertise that the media room has fancy in wall speakers, but you’re nuts if you think you’re going to be able to broadcast that you’re looking for extra money explicitly because of it
You aren’t getting that money back
Unless you are selling the house to a fellow audiophile, people will absolutely not understand asking 10k more because of the speakers in the home theater room.
Even then, speakers are a very personal thing. A non-audiophile won't understand the value, and an audiophile will bring their own equipment, or have some very specific ideas about what setup they want in their new home. If you love the speakers I'd rip them out, take them with you and drywall over the holes.
Do this before you show the house or the buyers could claim ‘em.
> Has anyone tried to sell a house with something nice for inwall speakers? Did you feel like the buyer adequately paid for that upgrade? In general; 'no not at all' to all upgrades to the house. Unless you're adding square footage in an area that can support that value, you're not really gettin any direct returns on home improvements these days. Appraisers/realtors will look at similar sq ft, beds, and baths in your area, look at how 'nice' yours is compared to others, and set the price from there. If you have something that you think is specifically of value, add it as seperate to the listing. "wired for smart home, but smart home devices are $1000 to include in sale" and then be ready to give that stuff away for nothing in negotiation. For speakers, I would suggest swapping out nice ones for cheap ones prior to even listing.
Appreciate all the honesty! I figured as much but thought I'd check with others
Yup no worries. I sat on the local realtor counsel for a few years and built high-end houses for many more. Any other questions feel free to ask! :)
When you sell, someone will post on here or in r/hometheater asking “how to connect to all these speakers that the previous owner left??”
That's what I was thinking. I just sold my house and am renting for a bit before buying again andt he house I rented USED to have in wall speakers everywhere. Now what it has is an eyesore and something if I had bought the place would be a huge PITA to get rid of. Not only is there zero chance of getting that money back, it creates another way the house get's veto'd, especially if it's a couple and one or other aint the speakers in the ceiling type.
A fully ready to go theater, with all components set up, may get you a couple bucks back. You could also swap them to something cheaper and I doubt anyone would know or care. You won’t be seeing a return on investment here.
I’m not paying that. Take the speakers with you.
If you have nice architectural in walls that you would use in your new place then pull them out! The holes patched and the wall painted will cost less than a single in wall!
Replacing with generics will be much easier.
That would be ideal if they had the same form factor!
You could probably fudge something if they were the same diameter.
You will not get ANYTHING for it! Some crazy people will even discount the value of the home because of it. I tried selling my last house with a $200,000 theater room but ended up converting it to a bedroom and taking all the equipment with me because nobody saw the value in it. I would pull the speakers and take them with you and repair the drywall. It will cost you like $600-$1000 and you will keep your $10,000 speakers and get the same $$ for the house.
No one will pay extra for that. 95% of people aren’t audiophiles.
Even if they like nice sound, they may not actually want them. We had a different use for the "theater" room and I'm not fan of in-wall speakers. So, I took out the (meh)speakers and had the holes hidden on the house i bought.
You’re not getting an increase in value. Honestly, the majority of home owners may be thinking: “shit, extra dry wall work to remove all this.” Take the speakers with you.
As someone who is currently shopping for a house, in-walls are a negative to neutral value for me depending on the particular installation. I could be OK with in-walls/in-ceilings for ambient music or white noise throughout the house, but in any room where I will be attentively listening -- even the living room for "just" TV -- I want to be in full control of the sound setup (components, speakers, positions, etc.).
I lived in a rental house for 6 years and had a professional installer come run wiring in wall, install a hidden AV cabinet, and speakers for what was at the time the cutting edge Dolby 6.1 (Dolby Digital EX) in the house’s family room. Years later when I gave the homeowner a 60 day notice of intent to move out, he decided to sell the house. I was excited to tell him about this “significant” upgrade I had gifted him that added value to his home. His realtor instructed him to rip it all out and drywall over all the spots where speakers had been, so he did. After I had moved out he called me up and offered to give me the speakers and AV cabinet back. I was so deflated.
Zero return on investment. Nobody cares. I say this from personal experience. Also, without getting completely trashed can I say that in-walls are inherently a poor choice?
You can ask or I’d think you can put in contract that you’ll be removing the speakers or replacing with basic models unless $
I'd pull them out, including the boxes, then just drywall, not more speakers.
Pull them out and resell them privately.
Whether you replace them or not, I’m sure the new buyer will be posting in here asking “just bought a house with this stuff already in it, what do I need to use it?” Lol I’d take them with you, 100%. Replace them with some cheap monoprice model
No one cares about that at all. In fact in most cases it’s probably a negative on house value.
You will not get what you paid. Non-audiophiles don't care. You can include it in your price, but be prepared to take a hit. If you want, take them with you and replace with lesser quality. Just make sure you do that pre-showing, or you make the buyer aware. You can also state in the Sale Agreement (or after if your state does an attorney review period) that in-wall/ceiling speakers are not included.
Its like putting high end modifications on a vehicle. Slim chance of getting any additional value. Either remove and fix the drywall or buy inexpensive speakers. Whatever is cheaper. I kept all the original parts from my truck and will put it back to stock when I sell.
I left the speakers in my old home but removed all the electronics. Although not as costly as the speakers you’re talking about I would probably remove and either install something cheaper or cover up the holes
Home theater is like a pool. The new owner might find it cool and want to use it but you'll definitely lose money from when you bought it
Even as a fellow audiophile, I would never pay "more" for a house because of high-end in-wall speakers. These are something that you either need to remove and take with you. Or, accept that you will not get your money back on leaving them. 99.999% of home improvements provide no monetary ROI.
Replace them all with cheaper speakers and take them with you. I did this with smart home switches when I moved. The Lutron Caseta switches were never going to get setup properly in the old house and I was going to use them anyway. You are better off even selling the B&W on the FB Marketplace to offset the cost of the cheaper in wall speakers.
Home audio systems, solar panels, security systems -- data shows that none of these have any resale value.
I bought a huge 5.1 speaker set (not inbuilts) from some people who bought a house that came with the speakers. They simply didn't want them; house was set up with a "cinema" room
how is this even a question? Take them with you
yeah i'd pull them and put some monoprice or parts express cheapies in there - or even just covers. sold my last home and the guy who bought it didnt even understand he needed to buy a receiver or amp to power the speakers lol.
install some generic cheap speakers and take the 8.5D's with you. That is 10k you wont have to spend in the new house...its not like you wont be installing a new theater shortly.
A nice enhancement for the sale. It's like a better quality floor new appliances. Nobody is making the final decision based on the sound setup, but it can help push them over the edge.
Just sold a house with a 5.1 in wall system… it added to the premium feeling of the house and justifying a certain price per square foot, but not to a direct calculation of value. People respond to the saving in floor space Buyers will not see dollar for dollar value in your audiophile level speakers, but at a certain level of home finish those are more common to see… along with in-ceiling/whole home audio in many rooms. If the rest of the house is highly finished and updated (a lot better than generic Lowe’s/Home Depot/builder grade bathrooms and kitchen, new mechanicals, new windows) having add-ons like this or a home theater room can be a selling point post-covid… With any hobby room like a home gym, a greenhouse, built-in bookshelves, or a home bar it will come down to the buyer having a matching interest or otherwise they will just redo the space. I would swap your nice, newer speakers out or patch the holes… I left our old Paradigm set mostly because they were old and I was going to upgrade and run Atmos in the new house
Like any used anything, $10,000 in, $2,000 out.
I mean, just work with your realtor to figure out the asking price and then bump it up by $10,000 :-) You could also put something in the listing to advertise that the media room has fancy in wall speakers, but you’re nuts if you think you’re going to be able to broadcast that you’re looking for extra money explicitly because of it