There are plenty of things that you can do to add value to your home, you’re probably familiar with a lot of them. You might not be as familiar with the things that actually take value away from your home. There’s a chance that you might even be making some of these mistakes yourself so it’s important to know about them. If you aren’t careful you could end up slashing the value of your home, and if you ever come to sell you’ll get a nasty surprise when it comes to valuation. Whether you’re thinking about selling or not, it’s always good to look after your home. Some of these things are out of your control, but they should still be considered anyway. Here are a few major blunders to avoid.
Dumps And Power Plants
Nobody likes the smell of a dump or a big ugly power plant, so it’s unlikely that anybody is going to want to live near one. Having a landfill near your house can push the value down by five to ten percent, although the effect is worse in more populated areas. Out in the country people don’t seem to mind so much. The effect of living near a power plant is around the same, so be careful when buying a house.
The Surrounding Houses
The state of the surrounding houses can have a massive effect on the value of your house. No matter how much time you spend sprucing up your own home, if your neighbor’s houses are looking tatty, it can push the price down. Overgrown gardens and peeling paintwork can be as damaging as a landfill or a power plant. If they’ve got a front yard full of burned out cars and junk, it could knock down your price even more. It’s a bit tricky to deal with because you can’t demand that your neighbors repaint their houses, but maybe try encouraging them to take a bit more pride in their house. It could make a huge difference.
Click here for advice on how to prepare the outside of your house for selling.
Noisy Neighbors
Your neighbors could cause you even more problems if they’re loud. If somebody comes to view the house and they can hear pounding music through the walls while they’re there, they are going to be reluctant about buying the house. The price reductions can be as high as ten percent if you even get any offers at all.
Fracking
Fracking is a divisive issue all over the world, and it has a massive effect on house prices. There is a lot of debate about whether fracking can pollute the water in surrounding areas so naturally, people are worried about living near fracking sites. In fact, even a proposed site is enough to bring down the house prices in the surrounding area.
Billboards
Nobody likes a huge tacky billboard, especially outside their house. If there are big adverts visible from the property, it will massively reduce the value of the house. It isn’t the nicest view after all. If somebody is trying to have a billboard put up near your house, then make sure you campaign against it and get your neighbors to do the same.
Comments