Your property is worth depends on a variety of factors, including its location, size, proximity to a school, and the number of bedrooms and bathrooms. Several of those factors can't be easily altered, but some are in the homeowner's hands.

Property values typically rise over time. However, that is considering a generational chronology rather than a current one. Property values may change over a period of weeks, months, or even years due to a variety of circumstances. While many of these factors are beyond your control, some of them are.

Certain things that lower your home's worth are beyond your control, but you may still prepare your house for sale or sell it if you know how your property value may vary. Here are 7 things that decrease the value of your home.

Bad Neighborhood Environment

In addition to adjacent foreclosures, a neighborhood's other characteristics can affect how much a buyer is ready to pay. For instance, noise pollution from nearby airports or railroad tracks could lower the value of your house. Additionally, purchasers might be hesitant due to light pollution from a neighboring freeway or sports complex. Landfills and power plants both have negative effects. Both of these have been shown to have a detrimental impact on home values.

Or perhaps a cell phone tower has been built close by since you first moved home. Or the neighborhood collapsed, and a strip club with shady patrons opened up shop right around the corner. It's also not good if your neighborhood has a reputation for crime. The value of your home may decrease if your community has declined because of the passage of time and neighborhood change.

You can try to bargain with any type of unsavory neighbor. You won't be able to do much in some situations, but you might succeed in others. Make sure to write down your issues and present them politely. Depending on the situation, you might also be able to bring this up with local police enforcement or elected officials.

Poorly Maintained

Fix the problem as it arises. Not so difficult, right? After a while of living in a house, you could grow weary of spending a lot of money fixing anything that breaks. However, doing so will increase the value of your home.

If potential buyers learn that the house need extensive repairs, they may not even make an offer at all if they believe the cost of the repairs is too high.

An HVAC system that is sputtering or a leaky faucet will get harder and cost more to fix the longer you ignore them. Hire someone who does if you don't know how to solve it. Pay close attention to any issues with your foundation, roof, gutters, HVAC system, and pests. You ought to take quick action to address these repairs.

The paint on your walls also has to be maintained. Similar to exterior house paint, interior wall paint that is damaged, of poor quality, or just plain unsightly will decrease the value of your home. Nobody likes to spend money on paint to address an issue that they let to continue.

Massive Structural Damage

Small things like a missing roof tile or a crack in your home's foundation may become apparent over time.

Although it may be easy to ignore these issues, it is always preferable to address them right away because one issue can frequently result in another that is more likely to be costly.

Beacon Investment Real Estate agents will take into account these elements in their official pricing and will give the buyer any information they learn.

There are numerous indicators of structural damage, some of which include:

• Sagging or leaking roof Termites
• Ceiling and wall cracks
• uneven surfaces
• spongy subfloors
• Rotted wood
• deteriorating concrete
• improperly sized doors and windows
• uncovered cracks in the walls

Don't forget to take care of your outbuildings, such as your orangeries, extensions, and conservatories. Your home's value could be lowered by any structural issues.

Unattractive Interior

When prospective buyers enter your property, they'll immediately notice a number of things. Do your possessions fill the house to the brim? Do all the walls in your home include family photos? Is the house dark and dusty? If you don't find the time to fix these problems—which are simple to fix—your property might not sell for the price you've asked for.

Another smart move is to repaint the interior, but again, avoid going overboard. Unusual wallpaper, flooring, and colors are not likely to be seen as selling points by prospective buyers, but rather as a headache. Storage problems in your house could also be a source of conflict. You want it to feel cozy and welcoming, but not overtly lived in.

Storage and cleanup should be done in advance of a showing. You want people to picture themselves living in a brand-new house, not someone else's abandoned residence.

Extremely Poor Curb Appeal

Because "curb appeal" is such a broad term, we're casting a wide net here. The first impression that people have of a residence is referred to as curb appeal. A home's attractive curb appeal attracts potential buyers and speeds up the selling process.

Buyers may have second thoughts about your home if it appears to need work from the outside and some may decide not to even look at it. Additionally, they will be responsible for making the house appear great once more, which can persuade them to lower their first offer.

You can perform the following things to increase curb appeal:

• Refresh the exterior paint with a new coat in a pleasing shade.
• Add new fixtures to the external lighting.
• Replace your dated fence with a more attractive one.
• Before putting your house on the market, have the front yard in excellent shape by hiring a professional landscaper.
• Clean the siding and windows.
• A worn-out, outdated front door should be replaced.

Pets

You might get up to 5% taken off the asking price for your home if you're the crazy cat woman with furballs oozing out of the edges of your sofa. Now, nobody is arguing that you shouldn't maintain pets, but you must be careful about the types of pets and the methods you use to care for them.

While dogs are adorable and brimming with enthusiasm, they can also harm your floors by biting, scratching, and leaving muddy paw prints everywhere.

The largest barrier for the person valuing your property, it is said, is the smell of your pets. Depending on how bad the smell is, odors can require intensive cleaning that can be expensive; you might even need new furniture and upholstery.

Although we don't advise doing away with your pets, you should be mindful of the damage and odor they can produce.

If you're considering having your home valued, seek the advice of a dependable friend (ideally one who is honest and doesn't have any pets). Ask them to take a tour of your house to see if they notice any smells or excessive amounts of pet-related goods.

A Mishandled Restroom

Another area where you might wish to take attention is the bathroom, but proceed with caution once more. Even if you want to make sure you appreciate the results of your effort, especially if you don't have any immediate plans to move, you also want to make sure that a lot of other people will enjoy it.

Bathroom upgrades and expansions can help raise the value of your house, but it's easy to overdo it with gaudy faucets, garish wallpaper, and poorly chosen paint. It will be to your advantage to stick with common and elegant elements.

Conclusion

The majority of people's biggest lifetime investment is a Capital Smart City home. Naturally, one would consider ways to raise the value. If you don't have the time or money to make significant home upgrades, you can at least steer clear of actions that will lower the value of your property. Some of those elements are within your power of control, therefore it pays to be aware of those that are not.