10 Crazy Things that can Ruin Your Home's Value

Whether you are selling your home or just want to maintain the value or increase the value, there are some things that can definitely be ruining the value of your home. Here are the top 10 craziest things that can actually ruin your own home's value.

#1. Not keeping up with the Joneses.

Has everyone around you upgraded or improved their home? If you live in an older neighborhood are you the only one that has cut corners, left your home extremely dated, or not fall in line with the consistency of the neighborhood? If your home doesn't have certain features that are common for the area, you could have an overall lower value than your neighbor.

#2. A zombie house in the neighborhood.

This is quite a bummer because there's really nothing you can do about it. However, external circumstances can affect your home's value. If there's a zombie house that's been a banded, neglected, or is seriously dilapidated, it can really hurt the value of neighboring homes.

#3. Poor curb appeal.

Is the paint peeling? Cracks in the sidewalk? Overgrown lawn? Or crumbling chimney? If the home has some serious curb on appeal, it's time to freshen up the outside to maintain your home's value.

#4. Odd or strange landscaping.

Landscaping is the accessories of your home and if you have an odd layout, strange-shaped hedges, or it's cluttered with car parts or household items as flowerbeds yet it really just looks messy, this can lower your home's value.

#5. A swimming pool or hot tub.

Depending on where you are in the country, a swimming pool may not be a positive feature. Some homebuyers see this as a lot of extra maintenance that they're just not willing to deal with. Unfortunately, this isn't something you're likely to take out but if you maintain it and it looks like a low maintenance feature of your home, it can appeal to a wide range of buyers.

#6. Water features or ponds.

Koi ponds or other decorative bodies of water are hard to maintain and unless it's perfectly clean and pristine, buyers may not see the beauty of it but rather the annoying maintenance.

#7. Foreclosures.

If the house down the street or worse yet, next-door has notices tacked to the front and the house has been neglected, it may turn away buyers even though there's really not much you can do about it.

#8. Too much clutter and collections.

You may be super proud of your 1980s transformer collection or your grandmother's teacup collection, but buyers just see clutter. It's time to lovingly pack these things away if you're planning on selling your home or having an appraisal. Buyers and appraisers need to see the bones of the house and if it's covered up by collections and personal memorabilia, it can detract from your home's value.

#9. A home next to a church.

This is an odd one but buyers see a lot of church traffic on Sundays and this can be a turnoff to some buyers. Navigating roads around the church may be difficult so if you have a home next to a church it's important to map out other routes or showcase the positive features of the house.

#10. A filled-in fireplace.

Some homeowners of older homes have chosen to fill in a fireplace rather than maintain it but this actually decreases the value of your home. Buyers want to see a warm, cozy fireplace so it's important to maintain the chimney, have it inspected, and provides out "warmth" the buyers are looking for.