If you are thinking of selling your home then it is natural that you will be looking for ways to increase the value of the property. But it can often be overlooked that there are certain things that will actually lower than value of your home and that these need to be avoided. We have created a list of six surprising things that actually decrease the value of your home. Some are fixable, but others are not! Let’s hope that you can make changes to your home to ensure it sells at the best possible price.
- Broken garage doors
A parking space can add as much as 10 per cent on to the value of a home, so it makes sense that at garage with enough space for a car would be seen as a huge boon for a property. However, it should also be noted that it is vital that your garage is in good condition and is usable. If the garage is in poor condition – such as if the door is broken – it can wipe off that additional value, despite the fact that the property comes with a garage.
It is necessary, then, to say that if you have a garage but it needs repairs, you should have these carried out before the house goes on the market. Remember that garage doors in virtually any material can be repaired and renovated, so it’s not always necessary to go to the expense of having a new garage door installed.
- A major mess
Surprisingly, while mess can be easily cleaned up, it is one of the most off-putting things for potential buyers to see when they look around your home. If you have children that make a mess it is absolutely essential that you should thoroughly tidy up before you have any viewings. If you fail to do so you can find yourself in a situation where something as easy to fix as a messy house can end up costing you a significant amount of money.
Find out when you have viewings booked and always ensure that it is free from mess.
- The wrong number
You might be surprised to learn that house numbers can actually affect the value of a home. If you have an even-numbered house, it is likely to sell for around £500 less than those that are odd-numbered. Of course, there’s not much you can do about this, it is just a quirk of the property market.
Additionally, there are apparently still plenty of superstitious types around as houses with the number 13 typically for around £6,500 less than houses on the same street. Simply having the wrong house number clearly can make a huge difference to a home’s value.
- Lacking kerb appeal
You might think that homebuyers would be able to easily overcome a home that doesn’t look fantastic from the outside if the rest of the property is in good shape. But apparently this is not the case. The façade makes a huge difference – if the exterior of home is in poor condition, potential buyers will be put off
- Bright colours
Many homebuyers are looking for the finished product from the property they purchase. So when you are making decisions about the colour scheme, you sometimes need to have future selling in mind. Bright and bold colours are much less popular than light and neutral shade and this translates to a lower value for houses more unusual interiors than those than have a simpler colour palette.
- Overdevelopment
We also think of putting work into property as something that will definitely increase its value. So you might be surprised that when it comes to home improvements, you can definitely have too much of a good thing. Put it a huge wave of improvements and developments on your property and you could easily end up spending £100,000 – but just because you have invested that much doesn’t mean you will see that sort of a return.
It is important to understand the market that your property will operate within. If all the houses on your street sell for £300,000, there are no changes that you can make that would mean yours is worth £400,000.
