Property prices have soared over the last year as a result of the stamp duty holiday and the ‘race for space’ due to the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions.  In fact, a record number of people achieved their asking price because the market was so buoyant and demand was high.

However, there are areas that can actually devalue the price of your property, make it difficult to sell and leave you with either reducing the price or making expensive changes to your house in order to achieve your anticipated sale price.

Here’s our top 5 suggestions on how not to devalue your home

1. Don’t go OTT with decor

When GoCompare polled over 2,000 people recently about what would put them off purchasing a property, the outcome was that the decor in a home is very important.  Properties with overly bold colour and style, as well as over-personalised decor will undoubtedly put people off purchasing.  The problem with overly-personalised decor is that the buyer will need to spend money on changing it.  If a kitchen or bathroom is involved, this could be a very expensive outlay for the buyer after the sale goes through.

2.  Don’t overdevelop your property

The house that you intend to sell should balance with the size of the garden space.  Many people extend their properties with good intentions, but if it takes up too much garden space to make it look unbalanced, then it will reduce the price of your property.  In some instances, this could make a difference in the selling price of around 7-10%.  So, if you’re looking to extend your property, make sure that it balances with the outside space in order to attract the best possible selling price.

3.  Don’t lose your paperwork

If you’ve done any home improvements or extensions to your property, it’s important to have all of the relevant documentation to show your potential buyers.  Building regulations, permissions and consents should all be kept safely, ready to give the buyer confidence that any home improvement is legal.  If you haven’t got all of the relevant documentation, there is a possibility that you could apply for retrospective permission to be granted by the local authorities, however, the risk is that they won’t grant it and may even order you to revert the property to its original state.  This would be a catastrophe – not only will it cost you thousands to remove the extension, but it will also reduce the value of your property massively.

4.  Don’t overwork the garden

Gardens have become one of the main features that people look for when they view a property.  This is been heightened over the last 2 years because people are moving away from enclosed spaces and now require outside space.  But, if your garden has been overdeveloped and is high maintenance, it will undoubtedly put people off from buying it.  To relax in your garden is one thing, but to have to continually maintain it on a daily basis is not what people are looking for.  if, for instance, the garden requires professional gardeners to maintain it, then the buyer will have to consider this in their offer price.

5.  Don’t overprice your property

One of the worst things you can do is to overprice your property.  The reason for this is that interest in a property is at its strongest in the first 2 weeks of it being marketed.  If your property is overvalued, interest in it will diminish, forcing you to reduce the price in order to secure a sale.  Equally, if people see a price reduction of your property, or it’s been on the market for a while, then they could be put off from viewing because they’ll begin to think there’s something wrong with it.

Conclusion

The housing market remains buoyant and is expected to continue to grow over the next 18 months.  So, if you’re considering selling your property, by following these tips above, you’ll be ahead of the game, increase your chances of achieving your asking price in time effective manner.

We are Ashgrove Property Services – a family run Estate Agency with an emphasis on the personal touch and delivering exceptional service and support.  Based in Gloucester, we help you buy, sell or rent properties in and around the local area.  If you’d like some more information, take a look at our website www.ashgroveonline.co.uk or give us a call on 01452 690 870 – we’d be happy to help!

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