Various issues with your home can deter potential buyers from putting down an offer or even scheduling a viewing if it’s on the market. For instance, your home might need a number of repairs. Unless your property is on the market at a price suitable for a fixer-upper, you should expect buyers to avoid it completely.
Or how about pets? It’s amazing how many property ads online have pets posing for the photographer. Obviously, these owners are unaware that a lot of buyers won’t want to purchase a home that previously housed a pet. Why is this? Buyers make snap judgements about homes with pets. They might assume your house smells, that it’s a mess or that it’s suffered a lot of damage. Even if this isn’t the case, the perception exists and will impact the potential price that your property could sell for.
There are also issues that have been shown to directly impact the value of your property. Let’s look at a few of the problems you might face.
The Wrong Numbers
You probably didn’t realise this, but the number of your home can impact the home value. For instance, according to Zoopla, homes with odd-numbers will sell for about £358 more than those with even-numbers. Why this is, we couldn’t tell you. Perhaps, people feel that the odd-numbered home is more distinguished?
Similarly, an unlucky number can also have an impact. Even just living on a street with the number 13 on it can slash the cost of your home by roughly £6,500. We shudder to think what happens to the value if your home is the number 13. You can mark this one down to superstition with about thirty percent of buyers refusing to purchase a home with this number.
Neighbours From Hell
Supposedly up to one in five homeowners will encounter serious issues with their neighbours. This could be a confrontation about land, noise levels or boisterous kids. Regardless, Halifax Home Insurance found this type of issue with neighbours will cut the value of a home by £31,000. As such, it might be better to settle disputes before you start to think about selling.
No Place To Park
You might want to think about adding parking to your home if you live in an area where parking can be found at a premium. City dwellers should certainly think about paving over their yard to add an extra 50K to the value of their home. According to investor Phil Spencer, this will cost you around 10K so you will see a substantial profit. Conversely then, if you don’t have much parking space, this could be detrimental to your property’s value, particularly in urban areas.
Messy Rooms
Do make sure that you are tidying up your home before you put it on the market. That includes your kid’s bedrooms. According to ING Direct, a messy kids bedroom can knock a whopping £8000 off your home’s value.
Using this advice you can tackle some of the surprising issues that impact home value before you sell. For more information please call one of our offices
Docklands estate agents 020 7005 6080
Limehouse estate agents 020 7791 1777
Blackheath estate agents 020 3370 2222
Property management East London 020 3668 6712
