How to Improve Your Real Estate Value in a Bad Neighborhood

Great houses sometimes live in sad neighborhoods, but you can still make a respectable sale.

The idea of having the nicest house in the neighborhood might be exciting. Unfortunately, it's not always a great situation. Your home's real estate value is based in part on the value of houses around you. So if the neighborhood is a little sketchy, yours won't be worth as much as it would someplace else. But you can help boost the value and get a better asking price with a few tweaks.

Boost Your Curb Appeal

If you can't help but be the best house on the block, you might as well go all out with curb appeal. Everything that you can to do make your house look great, at least within reason, is worth trying. One of the most important things that you can do, according to Agent Harvest,  is keep your lawn mowed, and offer to mow neighboring properties if you can afford the time.

Tidy up your landscaping, have trees trimmed, and add colorful flowers if the season permits. If the neighbors beside you have a real eyesore of a home, consider installing a tall fence and adding taller landscaping features such as screens with vines to disguise as much of it as you can.

Save Room for Negotiating

While improving your home, be aware of your limits. You'll probably have to consider lower offers than you'd like. But if you don't invest a lot of money on improvements, lowering your asking price won't pinch as much. You'll come out closer to even in the long run.

Inexpensive improvements include paint, which can have a big effect, and cleaning everything until it's spotless. This might mean pressure washing the exterior and driveway, and deep cleaning the entire interior from the baseboards and carpeting to inside cupboards and kitchen stove.

Show Your Home at the Right Time

Depending on where you live, your neighborhood might look better at certain times of day than it does at others. With that in mind, you can schedule home showings during times when it's most favorable to you.

If the streets gain a few run down parked vehicles in the evening, schedule showings during the day. If mornings and afternoons are packed with school traffic, focus on midday. If you're not sure, take a drive around the area at different times of day to see what might stand out to you that you hadn't noticed before.

Work With the Right Agent

Some real estate agents specialize in listing and promoting hard-to-sell properties. While most agents will work to the best of their ability, some have an understanding of what it takes to get the best price and the fastest sale for houses that have a few downsides.

The advice of this type of agent might go against your grain, but it's wise to listen. If he recommends working with a home stager, it's worth it to give that some thought. If he suggests a few specific upgrades, bear in mind that he probably knows what he's talking about. Remember that he doesn't make any money until you do, so it's in his best interest to help.

Be Honest About the Problems

The last thing you want is a lot of interested people who see the neighborhood and keep on driving. Agent Harvest stresses that honesty is the best policy, so you might want to disclose some of the location's issues in the listing ad.

You don't have to disparage your property, but you also don't want to mislead prospective buyers. It's better to have fewer prospects who understand that the location isn't perfect than several prospects who never give it a chance once they see the neighborhood.

Selling a great home in a difficult neighborhood isn't easy, but it can be done. And you don't have to take a huge loss as long as you approach the sale with the right mindset.

Each location is different, and the right real estate agent can work wonders with ad wording and great photos. If you're not sure about real estate values in your area, you need a property value estimate from eppraisal. We can show you which homes have sold in your area, and for how much. That's a great place to start. Click here for your free property valuation today.