Even if you’re not planning to sell your home any time soon, you’ll still want to ensure that the value of your home is moving in the right direction. After all, there’ll eventually come a point when you decide to sell, and when you do, it’ll be in your best interests to get as much money as possible. Managed correctly, your home can provide the windfall of cash you need to live comfortably in your retirement years.
You don’t need to make grand improvements to boost the value of your home. In many cases, simply avoiding the things that decrease the value is enough. In this post, we’ll run through a bunch of factors that can cause your home’s value to fall. Make sure you’re not guilty of any of them, and you should see that your property’s valuation naturally and steadily increases over time.
Messy Fronts
What’s happening behind your front door is what matters the most, but the front of your property is also influential in determining the value. If it’s in a general state of disrepair, then it’ll be inevitable that the value begins to slide in a negative direction. Why? Because the front of the house sets the tone for the rest of the property. In one study, it was estimated that an unkempt front yard can knock as much as 20% off the value.
Boosting your home’s curb appeal is relatively straightforward. Upgrading the front door and windows, power washing the driveway, and hanging flower baskets are three easy ways to make things look more aesthetically pleasing.
Overly Unique Decor
It’s nice to have a home that feels very much yours, but keep in mind that if it’s too personal, then you’ll probably be impacting the value. That’s because home buyers are less likely to buy a property that they know will require wholesale decor changes. It’s best not to make your property overly unique — any potential buyer should be able to imagine what their life would be like if they lived in the property, and that’s less possible if your unique fingerprints cover every detail of the home.
As well as doing too much with the decor, you can also do too much with the infrastructure of the home. Making too many improvements can, conversely, end up hurting your bottom line. Not all home improvement projects will be right for your home, so it’s best to check the potential return on investment before you get underway.
Energy Efficiency Issues
The property’s energy efficiency rating is important to buyers for two reasons. The first is that more and more people want to take steps to keep their carbon footprint as low as possible. The second is that, with energy costs rising all the time, people are less willing to invest in a home that they know will bring expensive energy bills.
Anything that helps to improve the energy situation of the property will be beneficial. This could include adding insulation to the walls, investing in a smart thermostat or more modern HVAC system, or even adding solar panels. Solar panels have a big upfront investment, but they can dramatically reduce the size of the home’s energy bills — and that’s something that would be highly attractive to a potential buyer.
Untreated Issues
An issue with your property can impact its valuation if it’s left untreated, especially so if it’s an issue that can result in damage that’s expensive to repair. Damage to your roof or plumbing system, for example, can cause flooding that results in structural damage or mold, both of which can negatively impact the property’s value. The best way to avoid those consequences is to take action as quickly as possible. Getting in contact with a 24 hour plumber or roofer will ensure that the problem is promptly resolved, which will keep the more severe consequences at bay. Remember — the longer a serious issue is left untreated, the more likely it is that it’ll be expensive to repair, and it’ll also likely impact your home’s valuation too.
Poor Work
So long as it’s a home improvement that most home buyers want (say, an extension or kitchen upgrade), then your home improvement projects should result in boosted property value. However, that’s not always the case — there are scenarios when they could also cause your property’s value to decrease.
That’s the case when the work is carried out to a poor standard. If the company you hire for the job uses low-quality materials or just simply doesn’t give the job the care and focus it requires, then it’s likely that a potential buyer will try to deduct the cost of fixing the work from the cost of the property. While you can’t always guarantee that the workers you hire will deliver top-quality work, you can increase the chances by vetting the credentials of the company, including reading reviews and asking to see examples of their work.
Noise Matters
Your house may be beautiful, but if external noise makes it difficult to relax and unwind while you’re there, then the valuation is likely to decrease. People expect that they will live in a quiet, peaceful home, not one where they’re continually battling with loud traffic or neighbors.
There might be instances when you can prevent the noise in the first place (for instance, talking to your neighbors), but if that doesn’t work, then take a look at soundproofing your property. Adding double- or triple-glazed windows, insulation, and plants/trees that block noise can all help to make your home more peaceful.
Failure to Evolve
Your home might have looked great ten years ago, but if you’ve put no work into bringing the property up to modern standards, then it’ll be inevitable that the value will be impacted. While potential buyers expect that they’ll have to update some aspects of the decor when they move in, they won’t expect to update every single aspect of the home’s aesthetic — and if that is the case, then they’ll expect the cost of the property to be lower than if it was ready to be moved into.
In general, it’s best to make improvements to your property every 4 – 6 years. You don’t always need to undertake a complete renovation — even minor improvements can help to keep things looking fresh.
Lack of Natural Light
The presence of natural light is a big selling point for buyers. After all, everyone loves waking up on those beautiful spring and summer days to a home that’s bathed in sunlight.
If your home is a bit darker than you — or your potential buyers — would like it to be, then look at making some changes. It’s normally possible to increase natural light in a property by making a few improvements. Upgrading the windows, painting the walls a light color, adding mirrors, and decluttering can all help to make a space brighter. Plus, those improvements are just generally more desired by home buyers anyway, so it’s a win-win situation.
Bad Smells
A potential buyer may be interested in your property because they like the look of the photographs, but if they turn up and there’s a bad odor, then they’ll be unlikely to meet your full asking price. A bad smell has a subtle but powerfully negative impact on the visitor’s experience, and even if they’re not fully conscious that there is a bad smell, they’ll likely be unimpressed. After all, the sensory experience counts for a lot.
Some common bad smells you’ll find in homes include cigarette smoke, pet odors, and damp/mold. You’ll need to use some deep cleaning methods to get rid of these smells, but none of them are overly complicated — and in the process, you’ll be improving your experience of your house as well as those of your guests.
Roof Damage
A potential buyer doesn’t expect that every aspect of the home will be in tip-top condition when they buy it. But there are some issues that they simply can’t ignore. One of them is roof damage. This is a problem because it’s an issue that can be expensive to resolve and which usually needs fixing quickly due to the potential problems that an untreated damaged roof can bring. As with plumbing issues, it’s best to get in touch with a roofing expert as quickly as possible.
Pest Concerns
People usually don’t even want to enter a home that has pests, let alone buy one. The presence of pests can reduce the value of a home by up to 20%, especially in the case of pests that can damage infrastructure, such as rodents. No matter what type of pests you’re dealing with, it’s usually pretty straightforward to get rid of them, though you’ll need to hire a professional exterminator to do so.
Conclusion
There are some factors, such as the economy and local housing market, that will influence the value of your property and which are beyond your control. But for the most part, the value will be within your control, so keep the above factors in mind and help nudge it in the right direction.
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