With the real estate market as shaky as it is, homeowners can't afford to deal with more problems.
And yet there are always problems, ranging from noisy neighbors to sinkholes.
We've rounded up some of the biggest threats to the value of a home.
Sinkhole damage sucks property values down a staggering 30%.
The prevalence of reports of sinkhole damage in the U.S. this year has raised questions about the impact on property values.
It's not the threat of a sinkhole that damages property value –– there's insurance coverage specifically for sinkhole damage. In fact, a 2007 study found no statistically significant difference in home values in areas prone to sinkholes. Like earthquakes, it's only after sinkholes hit your property that problems arise.
Rob Arnold, a Florida real estate investor and realtor who has bought and sold more than 30 sinkhole properties in the last five years, told CF13 News he tells owners of damaged homes to knock 30% off their asking price, plus the cost of any repairs.
City dumps and power plants can drag down your home value by about 7%.
Pick a home in close proximity to a dump or a power plant and watch your property value get dinged.
When researchers looked at five municipal landfills on residential property in Cleveland, Ohio, they found the stench was enough to drag down property values by 5.5 to 7.3%. Landfills are most hurtful in populated, expensive, residential areas. The effect was basically nonexistent in sparse, rural areas.
Likewise, the University of California at Berkeley found homes within two miles of a power plant saw values drop 4 to 7%.
Hoarders knock property values down 5 to 10%.
A nearby property's overgrown yard, peeling paint, and clutter can easily knock 5 to 10% off the sale price of your home, said Joe Magdziarz, the president of the Appraisal Institute and a real-estate appraiser with 40 years of experience. A true disaster — a junky home in deplorable condition and a yard packed with debris — could cost you even more.
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