Josh Dotoli founded Dotoli Group in 2013, and the Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based real estate company now consistently ranks in the top 1 percent in sales production nationwide. With more than 100 transactions per year and $200 million in sales closed in 2022 alone, it is the #1 brokerage in Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade.
While Dotoli encourages its clients to add as much value as possible to the properties he sells In the crucial year before enrollment, he saw many of them do things that had exactly the opposite effect.
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“Even though most homeowners aim to increase the value of their home, several actions can have a detrimental effect, causing your home value to decline in less than a year,” Dotoli said. “Here are some ways to destroy the value of your home.”
Neglecting maintenance
With physical structures, small problems always become big problems if given enough time, and one of the least productive ways to use 12 months is to let them fester.
“Failing to address necessary repair and maintenance issues can quickly erode the value of your home,” Dotoli said. “This includes ignoring leaks, damaged roofing, plumbing problems or electrical problems. Neglecting maintenance can lead to bigger and more expensive problems over time.
Customize your home
Sure, you love your hot pink edgy bathroom decor and industrial graffiti mural above the living room couch, but you’re selling, not buying.
“Highly personalized renovations or design choices, such as unique paint colors, unconventional layouts or overly specialized features, can limit your home’s appeal to potential buyers,” Dotoli said. “It’s essential to find a balance between personal style and broad market appeal. »
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Ignore the call of the sidewalk
The exterior image buyers see when they arrive at your home will determine their opinion of the entire rest of the home. After all, if you let your poorly maintained landscaping and moldy, dirty landscaping deteriorate so hideously, what do you have left to rot inside the house?
“Neglecting the exterior of your home can turn off potential buyers,” Dotoli said. “This includes not maintaining the lawn, allowing landscaping to become overgrown, or allowing the exterior to deteriorate. A bad first impression can even deter buyers from entering your home.
DIYing Beyond Your Capabilities
Just because they make it look easy on HGTV doesn’t mean you can achieve it in real life. Tackling projects on your own can be a great way to save money and build equity – unless the results are poorly done with an amateurish appearance.
“While DIY projects can save money, poorly executed renovations can decrease the value of your home,” Dotoli said. “Poor quality of work or shortcuts can lead to problems that require costly repairs down the line. »
Not making energy-saving improvements
Almost all modern buyers place energy-saving and eco-friendly features that reduce utility bills at the top of their list of must-haves. In this case, homeowners devalue their properties not based on what they do in a year, but based on what they don’t do.
“In today’s environmentally conscious market, homes that are not energy efficient may be less attractive to buyers,” Dotoli said. “Failing to upgrade insulation, windows, or heating and cooling systems can hurt the value of your home. »
Adding unauthorized structures
A good agent will spot illegal additions quickly, which should raise huge legal, financial, and security red flags to the buyers they represent.
“Building expansions or structures without the necessary permits can lead to legal and financial problems,” Dotoli said. “Unauthorized work can reduce the value of your home and make it difficult to sell. »
Setting an unrealistic asking price
Finally, there is the counterproductive action some buyers fall victim to at the very end of the 12-month period, right around the time of listing, by being overly optimistic about the value of their home.
You never want to sell yourself short, but a short sale can extend your listing’s dreaded days-on-market (DOM) deadline.
“Setting an unrealistic asking price for your home can deter potential buyers and lead to your property languishing on the market, which will ultimately decrease its perceived value,” Dotoli said.
From neglecting basic maintenance to unrealistic pricing, it doesn’t take more than a year for homeowners to sabotage their property values, but they don’t have to.
“To maintain or increase the value of your home, it is essential to prioritize regular maintenance, consider the preferences of potential buyers and make informed decisions about renovations and improvements,” Dotoli said. “Consulting with a real estate agent or appraiser can provide valuable advice on how to protect and increase the value of your home over time. »
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This article was originally published on GOBankingRates.com: 7 Ways People Destroy Their Home Value, According to a Realtor
