5 Things That Will Decrease Your Selling Home Value in Massachusetts or Connecticut

Selling your Massachusetts or Connecticut home was potentially the biggest financial transaction of your life. So you definitely don’t want to do anything to reduce its value and to raise the value of anything you can. You can’t do much about the location-related factors that can decrease your home value, but other factors are beyond your power. So let’s take a look at the five items in Massachusetts or Connecticut that will reduce your home value.

1. Proximity to Power Lines and/or Train Tracks

In Massachusetts or Connecticut, proximity to power lines and/or train tracks will reduce your home value. While both of these are needed for modern life, being too close to them can lower the value of your home.

You need them for electricity, but having power lines too close to your home is just not healthy. The irritating nonstop buzz is there, and they’re all unattractive. Furthermore, some research has shown that living too close to power lines can help encourage some forms of cancer and other illnesses.

Contact your nearest Massachusetts or Connecticut agent at 413-455-0008 if your home is located near power lines. In order to reduce the effect of this value-decreasing feature, your agent will help market your house.

Near proximity to train tracks is another thing which can decrease your home value. Yeah, it can be a major plus to be reasonably close to the commuter rail. But if your home is too close to the tracks, it will reduce its worth. The noise, as well as the danger it poses to children, is the greatest downside.

2. Unusual Upgrades

You need to bear in mind that your home is not alone, that it is not an island. It is a part of the neighborhood as well. That means that the character and feel of the neighborhood should suit with any changes you make to your house.

However, if your improvements are unusual (when you consider the neighborhood as a whole), your home value in Massachusetts or Connecticut will decrease. For example, if you build an in-ground pool in the backyard in a colder environment where it will rarely be used and for that very reason, where no home in the community has one, you will lower the value of the home.

So, again, before making any upgrades, the best course is to talk to your Massachusetts or Connecticut. In making improvements that will increase, not decrease, your home value, an experienced agent will direct you.

3. Deferred Maintenance and Deteriorating Paint

Signs of delayed maintenance and poor paint quality are two factors that almost always lower the value of a home and successfully scare buyers away. Here’s what the real estate pros say about these things and how they reduce the value of your Massachusetts or Connecticut house. . . . 

“Do you have a serious repair backlog, such as a leaky roof, damaged siding, or a spluttering HVAC system? If so, the safest thing is to tackle them ASAP. Letting them languish on your to-do list would only chip away at your home’s property value. What’s more, remedying these problems is even more costly the longer you wait.”

Anything as simple as peeling can reduce a surprising amount of a home’s value by deteriorating exterior paint. For consumers, it’s a turnoff, and that will be reflected in the deals. However, in repainting, you need to be vigilant about colors that may still reduce the home value of your Massachusetts or Connecticut. It is a negative to paint your house in an offbeat colour. “Neutral colors such as green, white, cream, and beige are preferred by consumers. But with care, choose your colors and repaint the outside when it begins to look terrible.”

4. Bad Neighbors and Foreclosures

The neighborhood’s character can also influence the value of a Massachusetts or Connecticut house. Poor neighbors and foreclosures in the neighborhood are two factors that can affect value negatively.

Poor neighbors are usually those that have junk-filled yards, don’t clean their houses, and/or throw a lot of noisy parties. As well as the presence of registered sex offenders in the local, the neighborhood crime rate is also a factor here.

On a similar note, the reality of neighborhood foreclosures is another thing that can decrease your home value. “A foreclosure close to your Massachusetts or Connecticut home hurts the property value of your home. That’s because, when calculating the value of your house, appraisers look at identical sale rates in your area. What’s more, foreclosed homes will sit empty for a long time without any maintenance. For your Massachusetts or Connecticut property value, that also does not bode well.”

5. Over-Personalizing

The amount of personalization in and on your home is another factor that can lower your home value in Massachusetts or Connecticut and that is entirely beyond your power. Do too much, and you might go down in value.

“They immediately take note of all the projects they would need to do when a buyer tours a Massachusetts or Connecticut home. Such topics as removing eccentric wallpaper, painting over odd colors and changing traditional fixtures are topping their lists. Try to ensure that if you are aiming for anything offbeat, it can be quickly omitted or reversed when it is time to sell.”

Instead, you need to aim for a blank-pallet effect, one that will allow potential buyers to picture your Massachusetts or Connecticut house as their home. You can be helped by your nearest agent to get this right.

The Agent Advantage

Some of these, as we have said, you can’t monitor, but others you can. And that’s where the experience of your local agent needs to be called upon. So if you’re ready to sell and don’t want to see a drop in Massachusetts or Connecticut in your home value, contact us at 413-455-0008 today.