When you’re ready to sell your house, you should have it evaluated by a real estate professional, so you know how much to ask for. Sometimes the value of a property is less than what the owners expected it to be and this can be an issue for a variety of reasons, including the fact that if the property isn’t worth enough, you may not be able to move house at all (especially if you are in negative equity). With this in mind, it’s critical to understand what’s causing your property’s value to fall so you can put things right and get as much for your property as possible. Read on to find out what some of the causes might be.
The Front Lawn
When looking at houses, you’ll make a quick judgement about those properties you see based only on how they look at first glance. You’ll already have an opinion without even stepping inside or reading the description.
The important thing to remember is that others are doing the same thing with your property. If the front yard is a mess, people will think that the remainder of the home isn’t worth as much as nicer, tidier, better-kept houses on the same block. It’s hard to believe that something as simple as mowing the front lawn, weeding the flowerbeds, repairing your driveway and painting your garage door can make a difference in the value of your home, but it can.
Clutter
When someone comes to look at your home, they should be able to envision their belongings and furnishings in place of yours. Discount real estate brokerages will of course help you sell your home, but if the potential buyer can’t imagine themselves in your home, it’s going to be hard to persuade them otherwise. If they can’t see it properly as it is too cluttered, they may simply go somewhere else. When it comes to selling property, there is a lot of competition, so everything you can do to enhance the appearance of your home will increase its value and increase the chance of it selling.
Because you will be moving anyhow and will need to pack everything, the period immediately before an agent is scheduled to appraise your home is ideal for removing anything that should not be there.
More Serious Issues
Cosmetic improvements will certainly increase the value of any home when they are addressed. However, if you have larger, deeper issues that any future owner would have to spend a lot of money to fix, the value of your house will drop to compensate for this. Because the potential buyer is aware that they will have to spend money after moving in, purchasing a less expensive home makes sense.
You have two options. You can sell your home for less money and accept that work has to be done or undertake the work yourself and sell the property for more money. The decision will be based on how much money you have to pay to repair the problems and how much value it will bring to the property. It’s an excellent idea if you’ll earn more money than you’ll spend, but if not, you may be forced to sell at a loss or at least for less than you would have liked.
