In a perfect world, a home would always increase in value and when the homeowner decides to sell, they’d get more than they paid for it. Unfortunately that’s not always the case. In fact, there are some things that can hurt the value of the property – some of which are outside of your control!
Let’s take a look at these factors that can hurt property value.
1. Neglecting regular maintenance
Home maintenance is one of those necessary tasks that people rarely like doing. After all, who wants to unclog the gutters or weed the flower beds? It isn’t just outdoor maintenance that has to be done – there are a lot of things that need to be taken care of too. Issues such as leaky plumbing, cracked concrete, and wood rot can drop your home’s value significantly because potential buyers aren’t going to want to pay for those repairs if they even want to see your house in the first place. So, take the time to rectify such issues and call in professional assistance if necessary. For example, spotting signs of termites warrants immediate action; a pest control expert found at https://www.pestcontrolexperts.com/aptive/florida/ can safeguard your home’s value and integrity.
2. Outdated kitchens and bathrooms
If you’ve watched a home improvement show, the kitchen and bathroom are the top candidates for renovating. People want functional kitchens and bathrooms, but they also want upgrades that are aesthetically pleasing! If you have a house that looks like it hasn’t been updated since the 70s, complete with avocado-colored paint and dingy linoleum flooring, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and get to work.
One of our favorite tips for improving property value is replacing standard fixtures like white appliances with stainless steel, installing an island in the kitchen (providing you have the space) and updating the bathroom vanity and toilet.
3. Poor workmanship
Whether you do the work yourself or you hire a professional to do it, poorly done work will not increase your home’s value. In fact, buyers will see the crooked tiling, bad paint job, and uneven decking right away. Potential buyers are going to be turned off by these small but noticeable details and that could be quite off putting.
Well, that may not be the case if a buyer intends to gut the house and start from scratch… But that isn’t that common of an occurrence to let the bad workmanship go.
4. Noise pollution
The factors that can lower your property’s value that we mentioned can be fixed, but noise pollution is outside of your control. Sadly, buyers aren’t likely to be interested in living near a busy highway, an airport, and other places where the noise is excessive. Don’t get us wrong, some people don’t mind some noise if it’s in a prime neighborhood, but those folks are few and far between.
Luckily, there are a few ways you can reduce the amount of noise pollution around you. Some examples include: building a brick wall around your house, adding plants and trees to absorb some sound, increase insulation and adding rugs or carpeting.
5. Registered sex offenders in the neighborhood
Megan’s law is a federal law where law enforcement agencies must keep a registry of sex offenders. While it’s true that sex offenders need to live somewhere, having one (or more) live in your neighborhood is going to decrease your home’s value by 4% and three times as much (12%) if you live right next door!
No one wants to learn that their property isn’t worth as much as you thought it would be. We’ve worked hard to buy our homes and all the love we put into it doesn’t always pay off. Although you cannot avoid some factors that cause a home’s value to depreciate, you can at least take care of some of the design and structural problems so you can come out ahead, or at least break even.
