4 Things That Devalue Your Home: What Not to Do When Selling
Believe it or not, there are some things that we commonly associate with increasing the value of our home which in fact cause our property to decrease in value. Here are some of the things you might want to think twice about before building in your home.
Home Emergency Insurance for £130
- ✓ Covered up to £1,000 per emergency
- ✓ £250 for overnight accomodation
- ✓ Call out, labour & parts included
Install a swimming pool
It turns out that taking a dip at your home can also cause the price to go in the wrong direction. While the idea of owning and indoor or outdoor pool might seem appealing if you’ve got some extra cash (and space), plenty of home buyers view swimming pools as a hassle they don’t need.
Swimming pools are costly to maintain, potentially dangerous and could even be a lawsuit waiting to happen.
They are also costly to install, often starting at around £20,000. They tend to take between two and four months to complete, and then you could have the problem of buyers being put off by the fact your house has one.
Go overboard
If all the homes in your neighbourhood look a certain way, making yours stand out may do more harm than good – especially if it’s with costly upgrades. Adding unnecessary extensions that don’t display some type of conformity could prove costly.
Adding extra levels, such as two new bedrooms to make it a five-bedroom house might seem like a good idea at first. But it could make your home stand out from the crowd in a bad way. Every area has an average price, and your new upgrades could caused the value to go significantly higher than that average.
Selling your home is going to become even more difficult – and you could be forced to accept an offer more in range with the local market value.
Upgrade inconsistently throughout the property
It’s all well and good putting a shiny new kitchen in your home, but if the bathroom looks like something out of a 1970s movie set, your home will end up looking anything but consistent. Whenever you do upgrades, they should be in line with the rest of your home so that they don’t look out of place.
While upgrading a kitchen or bathroom is recommended, turning spare bedrooms into all-out media rooms or gyms won’t necessarily impact your home’s value in a good way.
Potential home buyers might not want a games room or state-of-the-art gym, and the idea of having to remove them is a costly hassle.
Abandon the DIY approach
Who says you need to go all out with professional extensions to your home? Ok, we kinda did – but there are other options if you want to keep costs to a minimum.
A new lick of paint, changing carpets to wood flooring (or vice versa), or adding some built-in wardrobes all have the potential to add small gains to your house value.
Head over to your local DIY store – B&Q,Homebase,IKEA – and look around for inspiration. Hiring a professional to add upgrades isn’t always the answer, as long as you don’t mind getting your hands dirty and doing a spot of home improvements.
More Things That Devalue Your Home
The Neighbourhood
Unfortunately, there is not much you can do about the area the property is situated in, but you should bare it in mind when selling.
Pets
Your pets may be an asset in your eyes, but potential buyers may see differently. Dogs especially create a smell that can be off-putting, and a lot of pets cause damage to homes, so be sure to fix anything that may have been broken!
Quirky Colours
Some colours, such as pastels and white, are pleasing to most. Others are not. If your rooms are a gaudy celebration of primary colours, you may want to think about redecorating for the sake of your potential buyers.
Carpets Everywhere
Carpets have their place, and that isn’t really in the kitchen or bathroom. A lot of buyers don’t want carpet on a floor that is likely to get messy, as it is much harder to clean than tiles or lino.
