Four ways to help maintain the value of your property

When you find your dream home, it can be overwhelming. All sorts of thoughts and feelings can fill your brain: anxiety, excitement, fear, happiness.

One main concern that many people share is that they will not be able to cope with the property’s upkeep and that this could lead to depreciation in terms of its value. Continue reading for four ways in which you can help to maintain the value of your property.

1. Ventilation

One of the costliest problems when buying a new home can be sorting out damp problems. The likelihood of encountering such things is significantly lowered if you ensure you have sufficient ventilation. The vents on the top of many windows and doors often get closed to avoid a small draught.

Although this might be frustrating to feel a little cold air now and then, these vents actually help to keep your home well-ventilated and, therefore, should remain open as often as possible.

After having a bath or shower, be sure to leave the extractor fan on for a slightly more extended period to allow the condensation to be removed from the room, reducing the humidity. The same goes for cooking in your kitchen; the extractor hood should be utilized to avoid steam damaging the walls and possibly even your kitchen units.

Furthermore, during the colder months, it is more likely that you will be drying your clothes indoors. As soon as you face a sunny day with no chance of rain, stick the garments outside to dry rather than relying on your central heating. Using clothes airers within your property increases the humidity level within rooms.

This can lead to mold, which looks unsightly and can lead to health problems, particularly for those with breathing difficulties, such as asthma. Of course, some properties do not have the luxury of outside spaces, and sometimes, you could be waiting weeks before a fine day to dry your washing.

Investing in a dehumidifier could help as it will draw out the excess moisture from the air, meaning you are less likely to face problems with dampness and mold, which would both instantly decrease the value of your home.

2. Timely repairs

There is often a temptation to leave things that need repairing, such as a garage door or a window seal, especially if money is a concern. However, this can often lead to things deteriorating rather quickly, and inevitably, a more considerable financial sum is needed to sort them out.

Of course, an insurance policy may cover you for specific issues, but it is not always possible to use it for natural disasters, such as damage caused by flooding. Nevertheless, it is imperative that you pay for repairs to be carried out, ensuring that the company chosen is reputable and experienced. Not bothering to fix things straight away can certainly have a significant impact on the value of your property when it comes to either re-mortgaging or selling your home. Be sure to deal with repairs as soon as they crop up.

3. Redecorate when necessary

This is largely an aesthetic consideration. However, people will generally pay more for a house with fresh, crisp paintwork. Therefore, it is advisable to keep on top of your decorating schedule. Although you may be happy to live with scuffs and scrapes on the walls and woodwork, the chances are that they look unsightly and could be off-putting to potential buyers.

If you have wallpaper covering any of your walls, any patches that are peeling will also look ugly. Try to stick them down again with a bit of paste. If that fails or the damage is too great, consider removing the wallpaper and painting instead.

4. Clean regularly

It may seem, as with redecorating, that it has little to do with the property price. However, this is actually untrue. A clean house will have a higher value than a grubby one. When looking around a potential future home, people do not want to see how much work they have to do to make it livable.

In fact, keeping on top of the cleaning within your property will not only help with the aesthetic appeal, but it will also help you to discover if there are any unwanted pests within your property. Leave these alone, and you may face huge bills in the future as they can cause significant damage.

Cleaning behind furniture on a regular basis often leads to the discovery of animal droppings, of which you were previously unaware, and therefore, you can tackle the pest problem immediately.

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