With property sales down 10 percent from pre-coronavirus levels, now is a tough time to sell your home.
But what are the features and focal points that could turn buyers off?
Some of these beautiful home additions listed below by real estate experts may surprise you, but they will likely ultimately hinder a sale.
Luxury or unfashionable? A swimming pool costs around £10 a day to heat, requires regular cleaning and is a safety hazard
Expensive swimming pools
If you have a huge garden where you can shelter a swimming pool behind tall hedges, this can increase the value of your home. But if you have a modest plot in the suburbs, it’s a different matter.
“I think I’m losing two in 10 buyers if a house has a swimming pool,” says Jason Corbett of Rowallan Buying Agents. ‘They cost about £10 a day to heat and they are a safety risk.’
You might think that ponds would be a selling point, especially given the popularity of wild swimming.
But the dangers of drowning or a heart attack (due to the cold) outweigh the idea of a good life for most buyers.
Hot tubs can also be a turn-off. It’s a personal issue: most people just don’t like the idea of bathing where someone else has bathed before them.
Manicured gardens
A beautiful garden can be a selling point, but lavish flower beds and borders can have the opposite effect.
“Anything that’s too clunky can be off-putting,” says Prime Purchase’s Robin Gould. ‘I recently saw a house with a beautiful garden that required two gardeners to maintain it, costing £25,000 a year. Not many people can afford that obligation.’
Large pieces of decking are also best avoided.
‘Over time it becomes green, slimy and unattractive,’ says Carol Peett of West Wales Property Finders. ‘Sprays also offer rats a cozy home.’
So ignore the advice from the gardening programs on daytime television and tear up the decking boards before you sell them.
Statement stairs: They may look good, but many buyers consider them dangerous
Conservatories
A Georgian-style orangery is likely to add to the curb appeal of any home, but a dilapidated lean-to conservatory (with 75 per cent of the roof made of glass) full of abandoned exercise bikes and broken sofas will put off buyers.
‘Cheap PVC windows in a period house also look terrible,’ says Nick Wooldridge of Stacks Property Search.
‘Especially if the original windows were sliding windows and these were replaced by top-hung windows.’
Stylish staircase
Your eye-catching staircase may be your pride and joy, but it won’t help you sell. “Stairs with open steps, glass or cantilevers look nice, but they are dangerous,” says Marc Schneiderman of Arlington Residential.
‘I showed a house with a striking staircase in Hampstead, London, to dozens of potential buyers.
‘All cited the stairs as a reason not to buy and the eventual buyer made an offer on the condition that the sellers change the stairs.’
Trendy bathrooms
Once purely functional, bathrooms today are subject to the whims of interior designers, sometimes with disastrous consequences.
“A roll top bath in the bedroom adds a touch of luxury to a boutique hotel,” says Michael Holmes, an expert at the Homebuilding & Renovating Show.
‘But the step from the 1990s to bring the toilet into the bedroom was a step too far.’
Other trends that have expired are the television in the wall above the bath, double sinks for his and hers and glass toilets in the bathroom.
Too quirky: A bath in a bedroom will be a big turn-off for most buyers
Passion projects
Many homeowners have a room dedicated to their own personal interests, whether it’s a nightclub in the attic or a fully equipped gym in a reception room.
I once met a man whose basement was a shrine to Southampton Football Club, complete with turnstiles at the door and life-size cardboard models of the star players.
They won’t help you sell your house.
“The more niche your centerpiece is, the less likely you are to impress a potential buyer,” says Charlie Warner of Heaton & Partners.
Green laundry
There can be little doubt that your home should be environmentally friendly. However, to sell quickly, it also has to look good.
‘Eco-bling – experimental-looking houses with small windows, turbines that never seem to turn and roofs with too many solar panels are all a big turn-off,’ says Michael Holmes.
‘A poorly aged, untreated wooden cladding is also a sign that a self-builder is trying too hard to express green credibility.’
Personal taste
The experts’ advice on preparing a house for sale is simple.
“Don’t try to make a statement,” says Ed Jephson of Stacks Property Search. ‘Avoid personalized quirky styles. Lighting fixtures, paint colors and wallpaper should have broad appeal.”
Emma Fildes, of Brick Weaver buying agents, warns against garish sofas, inappropriate art and murals, especially if they depict the seller’s family.
“The fad for stenciling the walls with slogans like ‘Live Laugh Love’ is over and it could turn off a buyer,” says interior designer Julia Kendell.
“And for God’s sake, paper over that shocking wall.”