When you’re looking to buy a new home, you want to consider every aspect of the investment you’re about to make. Although you, of course, can’t see the future, you may still want to try to remember some problems that may cause the value of your home to decrease instead increase. Some of these may be situations you can avoid or try to do something about, but others could be something you’re stuck with.  Before you ever go house shopping, familiarize yourself with these problem areas.

Nearby Odor Sources

This is one of the problem areas you might not be able to do much about. If the house in the vicinity of a waste disposal area, chances are good you’re going to be able to smell it at the house, especially on a hot day or any time the breeze blows just the right way.  And, if located close a power plant—nuclear or otherwise—there’s going to be a lot of smell associated with it, too. Proximity to a nuclear power plant tends to scare away buyers and may lower the value of your home even more.

Trouble with Neighbors

If you observe noisy, rude, or messy neighbors, it may be in your best interest to move on and look for another house. You may not have an issue with troublesome neighbors, but unruly front yards and obvious lack of care without an HOA to sep in may devalue your home as well.

Sex Offenders

Registered sex offenders in the area are a definite cause of a decline in the value of your home. The information is readily available to all potential buyers with just a little online research.

Bad Local Schools

If the home is located in a low performing school district, this could be off-putting to some buyers. However, if you’re selling to a couple without children, a single person, or an older family, you may not have to worry about this issue as much. You could always go the extra mile and research some better private school solutions in the area for your potential buyers if you wish.

Billboard Placement and Traffic Light Visibility

Last but not least, if there are a lot of billboards in the area, you may notice a steeper decline in the value of the home.  Even billboards that are kept up well tend to cause a decrease in property value because they’re widely regarded as an eyesore. Same goes for backyards facing a major road that has the visibility of a traffic light.

I am a local area expert in Scottsdale and surrounding areas.  Click here to learn about Scottsdale’s neighborhoods and browse homes for sale or call me at (480) 980-8286.