What Maintenance Issues Have the Biggest Impact on Home Value?
The article highlights some of the most common problems that can lower the value of a home. It seeks to educate home sellers about these issues so they can correct them and consequently boost the value of their homes.
Types of Maintenance That Will Cause a Property to Love Value
Several factors come into play when valuing a home’s worth, including location, public transportation, school district, security, etc. While some of these factors cannot be easily changed, others can, which is where home maintenance comes in.
As a homeowner, one of your most significant responsibilities is keeping your home in good condition: Besides preserving its current value, doing regular renovations and repairs can go a long way in increasing its value. In fact, proactive home maintenance can increase a home’s value by 1 percent each year.
Awareness of maintenance issues that can lower your home’s value can ensure you take proactive measures to rectify them. Here are some causes of home devaluation and what you can do about them to boost your house’s resale value:
9 Things That Can Impact The Value of Your Home
Deferred/Neglected Maintenance
Failure to do regular maintenance is the fastest way to watch your home lose its value. Even a thing as simple as a leaky pipe can have damaging effects and should not be downplayed. Remember that regular maintenance allows you to notice faulty or broken equipment, which, if not corrected sooner, can cost you way more money down the road.
The Healthy Homes Maintenance Checklist [1] highlights some issues that could threaten your home if not addressed. They include Old HVAC systems, decaying wood, cracked driveways, termite damage, crumbling foundation, leaky plumbing, missing roof shingles, damaged gutters, and frayed electrical wires.
Outdated Kitchens
When a buyer steps into your house, one of the first places they take a look at is the kitchen. To keep it appealing to a potential buyer, emphasize the appearance of the sinks, cabinets, and countertops. Remember not to personalize the kitchen too much, as your preferences may not be the same for the next person.
Equally important here is to ensure your kitchen is updated and installed with the latest equipment. New sinks and cabinets can work wonders in making your home attractive to buyers.
Unappealing Bathroom
Like kitchens, buyers are particularly interested in the bathrooms, so you should be extra careful when maintaining or remodeling them. And while upgrades can help increase your home value, going overboard with them can work against you. For instance, over-personalized finishes and sophisticated tubs can seem difficult to maintain, discouraging potential buyers.
Sticking to mainstream features (like a walk-in shower), updating the flooring, and repainting the walls can help keep the bathroom attractive to buyers if you ever decide to sell your home.
Interior Aesthetics
Your home’s aesthetics are an essential selling point. One critical component of aesthetics is paint and choice of colors; old, faded, cracked, and peeled paint can be a turnoff for a homebuyer. Your choice of color scheme is also an important consideration, so be sure to do your research before painting your home.
It is always advisable to consult a professional to help you pick just the ideal colors for your property. With the right paint and color scheme, your home will sell for a higher price.
A Frail or Damaged Roof
Roofing a house can be pretty expensive, and buyers will consider the status of your roof before making an offer to avoid incurring repair costs. Take time to inspect the roofing, and especially be on the lookout for physical damage such as leaks, worn-out shingles, damaged roofing material, pooling water, and granule clogging.
Getting regular roof inspections can ensure you identify any damage to the roof and correct it before it becomes irreparable.
Bad Landscaping
Landscaping is a central part of your home’s curb appeal and can help increase the value of your home. Keeping the lawn looking neat, clearing bushes and weeds, and fencing are simple ways to keep your yard clean and well taken care of. It is worth noting that sophisticated additions such as waterfalls and pools can decrease a home’s value, especially for people with small children.
Costly landscaping decorations, subjective artificial installations, and other DIY projects can also be a turnoff because they might not be as appealing to other people. Keep your garden simple, and if you have to decorate it, use decorations that can be removed easily.
Quirky Tiling
Ideally, buyers prefer to upgrade floors themselves to suit their preferences. As such, avoid over-personalizing tiling during renovation. Considering the expenses and time that goes into replacing tiles, be sure to keep tiling as simple as possible, a guaranteed way to increase the value of your home.
Consider using a traditional white, beige, or light gray tile floor since it is easier for new owners to match their decor to vs. bolder colors.
A Garage/Living Space Conversion
As the current occupant, your garage probably serves a better purpose as a gym or an extra living room. But a future occupant may prefer to use it differently, probably for housing cars and storing items. This means that as you renovate your house, consider that a potential buyer might want to make a few adjustments to the garage to suit their needs.
In other words, ensure a future occupant can easily and inexpensively remove the renovations, which can be an incentive when selling a home.
Shoddy Workmanship
When doing a DIY project, think about how it will affect the resale value of your home. Many homeowners choose to do home repairs by themselves to save money. However, if not well done, it can compromise the quality of your home, ultimately reducing its value.
Remember that a buyer will be looking for awkward home additions, inadequate wiring, warped flooring, uneven decking, etc., to decide if your home is worth the mentioned price. Be extra careful when doing DIY home repairs and renovations to avoid problems.
Bottom Line
From updating your kitchen and bathroom, landscaping, and updating the roofing, making proper improvements to your home can significantly increase its value. More importantly, being aware of the common maintenance issues is the first step to ensuring you sell your home at the highest price possible. These tips can help you make the necessary adjustments to make your home more appealing to potential buyers.
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