Lazy neighbours could be devaluing your home by up to £56k, warns expert – check 5 messy items that could put off buyers
AN expert has warned that lazy neighbours could be the reason your house loses up to £56k in value on the market.
The expert has listed at least five items that could be putting off potential buyers.
According to insurer Churchill, your neighbour’s house appearance might matter as much as your own.
Even if your garden is maintained well and the property has no faults, your neighbours‘ actions could affect the overall image of your house.
Messy gardens and fronts of houses could be driving away prospective future owners.
According to a poll conducted by the insurance company, 82 per cent of estate agents mentioned how important it is to talk to neighbours about making improvements to their properties before listing yours for sale.
According to research, a dirty neighbour can deduct £31,000 from a seller’s home’s worth on average.
Sarah Khan, head of home insurance at Churchill, said: “First impressions count when it comes to selling homes, with the sale price often negatively impacted when the neighbouring property looks scruffy.”
One unexpected item that could be unsightly for buyers is garden gnomes.
Surprisingly, your neighbours’ decision to have the garden decorations on display could have an effect on the value of your house.
Another deal breaker is overflowing gutters and build-up of waste which could alarm the buyers that the neighbour is a trouble.
Asbestos shed roods and broken trampolines covered in weed aren’t only unsightly but could also indicate to the future owners that the neighbour is a hoarder or a recluse.
Or, perhaps they would be making noise fixing things in their garden early in the morning.
Jonathan Rolande, of the National Association of Property Buyers, said: “A mess outside a house just looks horrible, it’s not nice. But it also raises concern to the buyer that the neighbour could be trouble.
“If you’ve got broken down cars in the front garden, for example, will they be working on cars early on a Sunday morning.
“People don’t want to buy trouble.”
If you don’t want to get into a row with your neighbour, the experts recommend explaining to them how they could benefit from a good market price.
When the time comes for them to sell up, they will be able to get the best value out of their property based on your previous sale price.
Mr Rolande says “trying to be friendly to explain the situation would be the best way to approach it”.
Some might still feel nervous to approach their neighbour to ask them to tidy-up their property.
In such cases, you might want to offer to pay for the skip and garbage collection.
It would cost you couple of hundreds now but will save thousands in the long run.
Mr Rolande warned sellers to avoid getting solicitors involved in resolving the matter.
This would end up disclosed on the property information form and could appear as a conflict which would scare off the buyers.
He added: “By raising the issue of a dispute you’re sort of piling a problem on top of a problem.”
This comes as an electrician fears he’ll never be able to sell his home after his neighbour dug a 10ft hole in his garden next door.
Etizaz Raja claims Abul Azad’s “eyesore” renovation work has collapsed the garden fence, leaked sewage and is a haven for rats.