What Things Can Hurt My Property Value?

The market value of a home is how much a particular home is worth depending upon market conditions such as the valuation of comparable properties, the number of buyers, and the inventory of homes on the market. However, although the market value of a home can be a difficult value for even professionals such as home appraisers to determine, what causes a home to devalue is much less so. If you want to sell your house quickly, you need to do all you can from turning off potential buyers.

Here are just a few of the more popular thing that will likely turn off many buyers:

Having Bad Neighbors

This can sometimes be a hard thing to say for sure because the rowdy neighbors for you could be the new buyer's next drinking buddies. But remember that people will not just look at your home like it is an island unto itself. If you have neighbors that are loud, rude, scary looking it will be a turn off to most buyers. Even things like a neighbor with big dogs can sometimes cause issues for some people. You will even find some instances where neighbors have gone to court over disputes with property boundaries.

Is there anything you can do in a case like this? If you have had disputes with a neighbor you need to make sure the property lines are clear, and if a new buyer is wondering about neighbors you can invite them to come by during various times of the day and night to see how the neighborhood is at various times of the day. You don't have to tell them about every bad thing that has ever happened and for the most part it is best to let people make up their own minds about the neighbor's and not let your personal feelings get in the way.

Too Many Code Violations

Perhaps the past homeowners made changes that you did not know were code violations or unauthorized home improvements. Then, during the closing process, a serious buyer will see the discrepancies in the paperwork and you are blindsided by the costs to fix or pay for the improvements. In such cases, go ahead and conduct a home inspection by a licensed inspector to make sure the building is up to code.

Neglecting Curb Appeal

Maybe you think it is just shallow to worry about things like dirty windows or overgrown grass. After all things like this are temporary and very easy to fix, plus they don't interfere with the structural integrity of the home. If you think this you want to think again. But just like you would pick the clean car over the dirty one if you were purchasing a new car, most home buyers are going to do the same thing, and they will pick the clean, well cared for home over the one that has no curb appeal. This is why it is a good idea to spend a couple hundred dollars to get your house looking like it came off of one of the home magazines. Get the lawn and shrubbery looking right. Paint not just the house but the mailbox, front door, and porch as well. Get the windows washed and lay down a new welcome mat for all to see. If your home looks nice on the outside it will make people want to come inside and look at more.

High Levels Of Crime

Increased crime never bodes well with the market value of homes and it is a question that potential buyers will ask you about. Again, it is important for you to be cognizant of what is going on within your community before and during the sale of your home, so that you are not blindsided by probing buyer questions. To help with this, you can give buyers a link to the public police records of the area to encourage buyers to check for themselves. Moreover, you can add security alarms or even give a credit for the buyer to purchase strong locks or a year's worth of security.

Bad Schools Or Being In A Flood Plain

This is one thing that you really can't do much about but you should know about it all the same because it will negatively impact the value of your home when you go to sell. Because good schools will increase the property value you will even find some buyers that don't have kids asking about this. If you live in a flood plain, again not much you can do about this factor, but you are required to disclose this fact to anyone interested in the home, and know that it is going to have a negative impact on your property value. This is something else it is best to be ready for the question and prepared with answers like how often it floods, how much your insurance is, etc as this information will help anyone that is looking at the house make their decision.