Q. My neighbor’s home looks terrible. Will that affect my sale?

Q. I want to sell my home, but my neighbor’s home looks terrible with tall weeds and broken shutters.  Will that affect my sale?

A.  Unfortunately, yes.  The condition of your neighbor’s home can and will affect the sale of yours.  The neighboring homes can bring up the value of your home and just as easily detract from the value of your home.

And it is not just the exterior condition that affects your sale, here are the “Top Ten” ways your neighbor can hurt the sale of your home:

1. Incessantly barking and/or threatening dogs.

2. Too much junk and/or garbage outside the house the next door.  Plus garages packed with clutter while the garage door is left perpetually open.

3. The “driveway mechanics” with unregistered vehicles, trailers, cars on blocks, etc.

4. Excessive noise such as machinery, music, television, or even worse, yelling, fighting, screaming.

5. Overgrown/unkempt yards.

6. Ugly houses and neglected houses in need of repair.

7. Abandoned or boarded up houses.

8. Busybodies who come over to chat with your prospective purchasers and don’t know when to stop talking.

9. Loudmouths who complain about the neighborhood and just about everything else.

10. Too many cars and people coming and going next door.

Buyers understand that they can’t know or control who may eventually move into a neighborhood, what type of dog someone may get, and what may become of the condition of a neighboring property.  But buyers will scrutinize the current neighborhood as it will likely stay in that condition (for better or for worse) for the time being.

If you are thinking of selling and you have a problem neighbor, we do recommend politely talking to that neighbor to see if anything can be done to improve the situation.  After all, a lower price on your home does affect their property values.  So be patient, creative and seek a solution that would be mutually beneficial.

It may also require steering showings to times when the neighbors simply aren’t home such as during the work day.

Naturally, there is only so much you can control regarding the sale of your home and problem neighbors are just that—a problem.