Property prices have increased by about 10% over the last year, mainly due to the stamp duty holiday and the so-called, ‘race for space’ as a result of the Covid-19 restrictions. In actual fact, a record number of people have achieved their asking price because of the sheer number of people planning to move home.
With this being said, there are certain areas that can actually devalue your house purchase price,, make it frustrating to sell and leave you with the choice of either reducing the asking price or making, sometimes expensive changes to your home in order to achieve your desired asking price.
5 tips on how not to devalue your home
1. Don’t devalue your house by going mad with interior decor
In a recent study, GoCompare claims that 2,000 said that they would be put off buying a property if the decor was overly bold or highly personal to the owner. Properties with bold colour and unusual or quirky styles will undoubtedly put people off. The problem with highly-personalised interior decor is that the potential purchases will have extra expense in order to change it to their style. And if a kitchen or bathroom is involved, it could mean that thousands of extra pounds will need to spent by the buyer.
2. Don’t devalue your house by making the garden and the property out of balance
The house that you want to sell should most definitely balance with the size of your garden space. Most people extend their properties to create more internal space, but if it takes up too much outside space on the plot will make it look unbalanced, This will undoubtedly reduce the value of your property. and in extreme cases, it could mean the difference of around 7-12% devaluation of your home.
3. Don’t devalue your house by losing important documents
If any home improvements or extensions have been done to your property, it’s really important to have all of the critical paperwork together to show potential buyers. Building permissions, regulations and consents should all be available and kept safely, ready to give the buyer reassurance that any improvements are legal.
If all relevant documentation isn’t available to the prospective buyer, you could possibly apply to the local authorities for retrospective permissions, however, you run the risk that they won’t grant it and, in extreme cases, you may even be forced to revert the house to its original state. This would be a disaster because it will cost you thousands to remove the extension as well as reduce the value of your property at the same time.
4. Don’t devalue your house with a high maintenance garden.
Gardens and outside space have become one of the key features potential buyers are looking for when they view a property. Gardens have become more popular over the last 2 years, as a result of people wanting to move away from enclosed spaces and the need for more personal outside space. However, gardens that have been overdeveloped and need a lot of maintenance tend to put people off from buying them. Relaxing in your garden is one thing, but the task of continually maintaining it on a daily basis is not exactly a great selling point. As an example, if your garden needs a professional gardener to maintain it, the buyer needs to consider this in their offer price.
5. Don’t devalue your house by over pricing it
One of the worst things you can do when marketing your property is to overprice it. Remember that the most interest in your property will come within the first 2 weeks of it being advertised. . If your property is overpriced at this stage, interest will diminish and force a reduction in the asking price in order to secure a sale. Also, if prospective buyers see a reduction in the property price, or it’s been advertised for many weeks, they may be put off from viewing your property as there’s the danger that they’ll think there’s something wrong with it.
Conclusion
The housing market continues to be buoyant and is anticipated to continue on an upward graph over the next 18 months. So, if you’re thinking about selling your property, we hope these tips will help you be ahead of the game and increase your chances of securing your asking price relatively quickly.
We are Farr and Farr Property Services – Gloucester’s Longest Established Independent Estate Agency with 5 branches in and around the Gloucester area. We are a modern estate agency with traditional values and help you with buying, selling and renting properties.
If you’d like some more information, take a look at our website www.farrandfarr.co.uk or take a look at our local branches here
