Are Your Neighbors Helping or Hurting Your House Sale?

You can change a lot of things about your property in order to sell it in the shortest amount of time for the highest dollar possible. Unfortunately you can't change the neighbors like you can paint colors. Love 'em or hate 'em - you're stuck with 'em. And they definitely affect the value of your property.

Whether you like them or not is not important. What matters is how they affect your ability to sell your property.  Ideally you want quiet folks with an immaculate house and a team of lawn professionals who keep up the perfectly manicured grounds. It doesn't matter if Gladys Kravitz lives next door - if she brings in every one's newspapers and keeps junk cars at bay - we love her. Tidy, considerate, house-loving neighbors can help you sell your home.

It's the messy, uncaring, wacky, or -dare I say- poorer neighbors that should concern you. While they may be wonderful people, they may also be hurting the sale of your house. From the curb, the neighboring homes should look as nice as yours. No weedy, overgrown lawns or gardens. No old, junky cars in sight. And the thing that will really hurt your sale - no barking dogs.

When prospective buyers are considering your house, they're going to visit the back yard. If a neighbor dog starts barking at them, it might as well be yelling "leave, leave, leave". And they will do just that.

If the neighbors are devaluing your home, there isn't much you can do about it, but you can try. The first step is to communicate. Visit with them or write them a note and explain that you are trying to sell your home and you hope to get the most money possible from it and which would keep everyones property values up. They may not be aware that what they are doing could hinder your sale. Explain it in a nice, reasonable and tactful way. I've done this for clients. Usually there is some improvement to the situation. It doesn't hurt to try and it can make the difference in a smooth sale or a long wait. [where: 75230]