Are You “Your Brother’s Keeper” in Real Estate?
March 17th, 2008 categories: Cincinnati, Ohio, Fairfield, Ohio, Real Estate News, West Chester, Ohio
Spring is in the air and the area real estate market is slowly coming back to life.
As hesitant buyers are pried from their fence sitting position is yours the listing they will make an offer on?
Your price is right, the house is in great condition, priced below the competition and easy to show…and no buyers. I am discovering that many great homes priced below market are sitting in neighborhoods that are scaring buyers away before they even look at your home.
Drive through your neighborhood and what do you see? Well maintained homes or a myriad of “little things” that add up to declining area. This is a harsh time of the year the grass is not green and the landscaping is spotty so minor flaws become very evident to “house hunters” who typically drive the areas they are interested in.
The next few times you drive home, circle your neighborhood and look at it through the buyer’s eyes. Be on the lookout for:
- trailers, boats or mobile homes parked on driveways or on the side of the house- most neighborhoods have restrictions against these types of vehicles
- partially painted garage and front doors- not just winter wear and tear- but items that should have been taken care of long ago
- cars up on blocks or covered with canvas and/or plastic tarps
- cluttered (aka junky looking) front yards with lots of “stuff” all over. Items like stacked up planter boxes, 3 or 4 artificial ducks or geese, rakes, shovels, watering cans and other stuff conveniently located near the front door
- car(s) parked on grass
- wood fencing with large sections
- of damaged/broken wood
- piles of mulch or top soil sitting on the driveway- from last year
If you take off your rose covered glasses and see a number of items listed above - potential buyers are seeing the same things. Unenforced covenants restricting or prohibiting these items need to be enforced- but nobody wants to be the bad guy when it comes to asking neighbors to clean up.
However when the time comes to sell it may be to late to run around and coerce several neighbors into cleaning up their property. So if you are planning on moving anytime in the future you may want to become “your brother’s keeper” from now and initiate a neighborhood clean up.
Whether you live in West Chester, Fairfield or Cincinnati Ohio, your housing values are affected by how your neighborhood looks to potential buyers.
What do you think about your neighborhood? Any pictures you would like to share? If you have any questions call 513-300-4090 or send an email.
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Kathy,
Please add leaving the trash cans out front from week to week. Thank you.
John,
How could I forget trash cans? I will certainly add them to the list.
Remember to collect those old for sale signs that the “discount brokers” left behind after they charged $500.00 to get on MLS and then forgot about the listing.