What's with the house next door??

Nancy

I try to get some information on the home. For example a few year there was challenging close to my new listing. When I did the research it turned out to be an elderly couple that was slugging to take care of the home. We found a local service group that agreed to freshen up the home for the couple.

Good luck and succes.

Lou Ludwig

Nancy

Congratulations on recieving a feature for your post.

Good luck and success.

Lou Ludwig

I very much enjoyed your post today. We are looking forward to more insightful ones.

Perhaps you can ask your buyer to buy the house next door too, and then they can fix it up the way they want it.

Nancy Manby - I have represented the buyers where the sale was killed just because of the neighbor's home!

Yes, it can happen!

Find a buyer who likes cars up on jacks, the wheels off and with projects all over the yard next door. There's your buyer. Birds of a feather flock together. Definitely don't talk out in the yard about the property you listed highlights with the green acres home behind you in plain view. If the home is not cared for, usually neither are the bank loan payments and the problem goes away in foreclosure. But those houses where the neighbor inherited them free and clear, wait for the third year taxes to scoop it up and rehab for the daughter of the new buyer who will be getting divorced right about then or the mother in law needing digs.

Cape Coral has lots of ordinances to keep the city looking nice but we still have some bank owned homes and abandoned homes out there that seriously hurt the neighborhood

To some, life isn't about having a pristine house and maximizing the value of their house.  They might  have other priorities.  Maybe they use their money to help people who don't have any food to eat.  I wonder if Mother Teresa spent a lot of time keeping her home pristine in order to keep home prices up.

When I was building/developing, I would offer to paint the house that took away from the project. Other than that, if the city codes allow it, what can you do?

I had listed a house in what was a higher end 1930's neighborhood close to downtown. Next doo an eccentric had inherited the house and was a recluse and wouldn't answer the door. He had weeds and grass 4 to 5 feet tall in the backyard and the house was falling apart on the outside. We filed a complaint with the city that could have resulted in a daily fine and he did clean it up a bit in the yard. Thsiw as years ago and now it makes me want to drive by and see if he is still there.

Dear Nancy,

The only thing that has ever worked for me is leading by example, but that takes a long time (year +). When neighbors see your pretty flowers or neat new tree, they often ask about it & when you tell them how easy & relatively cheap these improvements are, they often fix up their yards too. 

Sadly, it can take years for these homes to either get repaired or sold.  In the meantime, everyone knows about them and  I think all you can do is point it out and hope for some change.

This just is not something that matters much in my neck of the woods.  First of all our average lot size is an acre so your "neighbor" is really way over there. And in my market your neighbor doesn't affect your appraisal because we don't have traditional neighborhoods in my rural area.  

Nothing can kill a good sale quicker than a neighbor, and many times it doesn't have to be the run down house. 

1.  Barking dog(s)

2.  Old Car(s)

3.  Toys all over the yard

4.  Screaming kids

5.  Motorcycles

Every buyer has their hot buttons, and we never know when they will find another one!

THis is a tough issue and I've faced it my self as a listing agent. Here in KCMO, you can report violations but the city doesn't enforce the code.  Talking to neighbors..sometimes I can get a clean up but it's usually temporary. 

The title of your blog--I've heard that exact sentence so many times!!

While people often criticize HOAs, they can offer protection from these situations. I recently saw a house painted near-fluorescent acid green with deep black trim. While the property was not run down and the paint was fresh, only a limited pool of buyers will volunteer to live next to such a beacon of color.  

Great observations!!!

There are far many eyesore properties that "fly under the radar" of town ordinances yet severely impact all the surrounding neighbors.  These eyesores are often what makes buyers walk away

There are so many neighbor issues that can impact a sale, and unless there's an HOA or city ordinances that allow intervention there may not be much that can be done. It definitely can kill a sale unless the price is really right ! And change can take a long time, or might not happen at all.

Jeff

Their is always that one house in the neighborhood that can kill a deal. Doing some investigation first so you have the answers is always a good idea!

Loved reading your post, congratulations on the feature.