Things that Decrease the Value of Your Home

Your home is an investment, and protecting its value should be top of mind, especially if you plan to sell in the next few years. Unfortunately, there are both external and internal things that impact the value of your home. The internal issues can be addressed and resolved, but the external items may be a little trickier. While you may not be able to do anything about them in the house you’re in now, a good real estate agent should be able to point them out when looking at your next home to help you avoid unexpected factors. Below are some of the things that decrease the value of your home.

Ignored Home Repairs

Home repairs can take time and, depending on the task, can be expensive. That said, it can be more expensive to put off the repairs. If you are not regularly maintaining your home, it’s going to take a toll on the value when you try to sell. Take time each month to check a different area in your home to ensure everything is in order and make a to-do list for items that need to be addressed. Some areas that may impact the value of your home are:

● Foundation Issues

● Leaking Roof or Missing Shingles

● Leaking Pipes

● Clogged or Damaged Gutters

● Cracked or Unkept Driveway

● Decayed Wood or Termite Damage

● Outdated HVAC Systems

● Frayed Electrical Wires

If any of the items on this list apply to your home, schedule someone immediately to begin assessing and addressing the issues. The longer you wait, the worse each of these items will get.

Unappealing Paint Colors

Bright or unusual paint colors can immediately turn buyers away from your home. If the outside or inside of your home is covered in harsh colors, it will be harder to find competitive buyers. Instead, take the time to repaint walls with neutrals or lighter colors that will make your home more of a blank slate for potential buyers. It’s important that they can see themselves living in your house, which means removing anything that could inhibit that vision. You may also want to remove wallpaper, as it is usually negative for buyers when touring homes. Repainting and removing wallpaper is an easy fix for anyone looking to add value to their home. If you need some inspiration on colors that could work best, Zillow did a study on the colors that helped houses sell for more money.

Poor Curb Appeal

Another easy fix is your curb appeal. If your yard is not well taken care of, it may be detracting buyers and causing your home to devalue. Take a few weekends to focus on yardwork and spruce up the outside of your house. Get your driveway paved, repaint your fence, freshen up the landscaping, and update the lighting fixtures around your porch. Small things like this can go a long way in making your home marketable for your realtor. Buyers don’t want to look at a potential home and see all of the work they have to do, so take this small win and do it for them.

Excessive Clutter

Having a cluttered home can actually hurt the value when you go to sell. Having too much things in one space can make it seem smaller, and will distract buyers from the rest of your home. The good news is that decluttering is a very inexpensive way to add value back into your home. By going through your rooms and getting rid of excess items, you bring more space back into the home and make your house more appealing to buyers. Plus, you’ll save on the cost of movers with fewer belongings in your house!

Comparable Listings

Your realtor will be able to pull comparable listings for similar houses in your area. Depending on the factors listed, plus the current state of the market, your home’s value could fluctuate. In a sellers’ market, your home will have a higher value, but if demand drops and it’s hard to find buyers, you could have a harder time getting the asking price for your house. Having a lot of foreclosures in the area may also impact the value of your home.

All in all, there are quite a few things you can do to improve the value of your home. Keeping up with the overall appearance of your home by taking care of the interior and exterior will go a long way. Unfortunately, some aspects that impact home value will be out of your control. Knowing what can impact home value is important as you look to buy a new home.

To have a trusted realtor on your side that can help you find a home in the area without these factors, head over to my contact me page!