You can't wait to move to a new place but there is one thing that's causing delay to that sale: your neighborhood looks like a mess.
While some people think that attempting to 'hide' or 'fix' that next door eyesore is a sneaky move and designed to fool unsuspecting buyers, there is nothing wrong with trying to increase your chance of selling your property by encouraging the surrounding households to keep their area 'pleasing to the eyes'.
But how do you do it without offending your neighbor? Trulia lists 5 ways on how you could successfully deal with the eyesore next door - without hurting anyone's feelings:
Just honest-to-goodness ask your neighbor to fix the problem
There's really no easy way of letting your neighbor know that their house is holding your sale back. But you can do something about how you do it that might help. Ross Anthony, a real estate agent based in San Diego, suggests you do it through a kind gesture; a bottle of wine or any small gift will do. Leave a positive note by implying that how your house sells will affect their house's worth - so the goal is to sell your property for more.
Offer to help
One reason a house looks run-down is an owner is unaware that there is a problem that needs to be fixed - or if the owner is an elderly who is physically unable to do it.
Sometimes, the house owner just can't find the time or 'strength' to do the fixing. This is where offering help can be of use. "Most people would be surprised how much they can convince people to do when they offer to help do it," says Alexander Ruggie of 911 Restoration in Los Angeles.
Notify your HOA
If you don't want to personally deal with the owner of the unkempt house near you, you can ask your HOA to mediate. One of their jobs is to keep every house in the neighborhood well kept so the value of the properties is maintained.
The neighbor will either receive a warning letter or a fine, or the HOA can deal with the problem and just bill the offending neighbor.
Call the City
For more serious problems, you can ask for the local government's help.
"If there is a really bad problem, like the grass is a foot tall and there are junk cars on the front lawn, your neighbors are probably in violation of local codes and can be forced to clean up," says John Z. Wetmore of Perils for Pedestrians.
Make this step well in advance before you list your home; the city could give a deadline of 90 days for the neighbor to deal with the problem.
For bank-owned house foreclosure, check with the county title records and have the bank that owns the property deal with the maintenance.
View-blocking trees or install a fence
"You only have one first impression," says Ross Anthony. "You want potential buyers to fall in love with your home before writing it off due to an unkempt neighboring property."
And that first impression would surely last. Deal with a not-so-pleasing view by blocking it with a tree or a privacy fence - both should at least be 6 feet high.
For problems with noise, putting a water feature may help drown out the clattering.
