Every once and a while, the thought may cross a homeowner’s mind: Are my neighbors judging my house? In a world where dilapidated exteriors and unkempt lawns can have nasty effects on a community’s home values, it’s a reasonable question. According to a recent survey by real estate brokerage company Offerpad, homeowners should anticipate their neighbors having more than a few thoughts on their houses. Unfortunately, they may not all be good.
One home feature proved important to neighbors time and time again in the survey — front yards. A total 47% of respondents claimed that it was most important to them that their neighbors maintained their homes and their yards. Just over half of those surveyed said they would consider sneaking into their neighbor’s yards to fix, change or remove something from their property.
On average, those surveyed said they would even be willing to pay up to $180 to clean up a neighbor’s yard or home. A total 9% said they would pay over $400 to clean up their neighbor’s property.
Mahler Sotheby’s International Realty agent Brandon Tyler offered some insight into why neighbor’s seem to care so much about other homeowner’s front yards.
“I always say it’s a direct reflection of who you are, but it also falls on the whole neighborhood,” Tyler told Apartment Therapy. “One house that’s not taking care of their curb appeal can be an eyesore in the neighborhood, potentially affecting other property values and the overall market value of the area.”
According to DK Landscaping, proper lawn care can have a major impact on your home value’s bottom line as well.
“If you are considering putting your house on the market, you can increase its value by proper lawn treatment,” the company reported. “Lawn maintenance can increase the value of your property by up to 15%. Who wouldn’t like that? Hiring lawn care experts is the only indisputable way to ensure that your lawn is always in pristine condition.”
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