The property nightmares that can knock £50k of the value of your home

We’re a nation of aspirational homeowners and realising this aspiration is a dream come true. However, research by home buying platform, Yes Homebuyers, shows how this dream can soon become a nightmare where the worst property nightmares are concerned and their impact on house prices.

Yes Homebuyers looked at 11 of the most common property nightmares and what the cost to remedy these issues means in terms of devaluing your property’s worth.

While Knotweed is the most commonly covered homeowner nightmare, there is one other issue that can knock more money off the value of your home. Subsidence is the number one nightmare for homeowners and any structural damage is likely to deter buyers completely. If it doesn’t, you can expect to see your property devalued by as much as -20%; that’s over £50,000 on the current UK average of £251,500.

Japanese Knotweed does come a close second, with the destructive plant causing a -15% drop in the value of your home. That’s nearly £38,000 wiped off when you come to resell if you don’t get rid.

While we all search for good connectivity in this modern age, living too close to a powerline, mobile phone tower or wind turbine can be a bad thing when we come to sell. Should one be erected close to your home while you’re living there, you can expect to see as much as -13% (£32,695) wiped off the value of your home. Similarly, a new power station within view can also cause a -5% drop in the value of your home.

Living in a known flood risk area and the potential risk of water damage that comes with it can see the value of your home fall by £25,150 (-10%).

Believe it or not, simply failing to maintain your garden can be a big deterrent to buyers, reducing the value of your home in their eyes by as much as -8.2% (£20,623).

Other more minor structural issues ranked as the next biggest nightmare, causing a 5.4% reduction in value (£13,581), while nuisance neighbours can also see your property fall by -5% in value (£12,575).

While a pain to rectify, damp (-1%), asbestos (-1%) and woodworm (-0.5%) have a far lower impact on the value of your property.

Matthew Cooper, Founder and Managing Director of Yes Homebuyers, commented:

“Working hard to climb the property ladder, only to find your property fall in price due to matters that are largely out of your control, can be a bitter pill to swallow.

“In the most serious cases of subsidence and Japanese Knotweed, homeowners can see thousands wiped off in value and this can also be the case for external factors such as new mobile phone towers and flooding.

“All too often we see home sellers opt to use our service, as such an occurrence has caused them to struggle to find a buyer and is preventing them from progressing with their onward purchase.

“While we have to carry out our own due diligence on every property, opting for a homebuying platform can at least allow them to recoup the majority of their investment and proceed with their plans to move.”

Table shows the impact of each homeowner nightmare on property values based on the current UK average of £251,500
Problem	Ave % impact	Ave UK house price vs % impact	Sources
Subsidence	-20%	-£50,300	link	link
Japanese Knotweed	-15%	-£37,725	link	link
New power lines, mobile phone towers, wind turbines	-13%	-£32,695	link
Water damage/known flood plain/flooding risk	-10%	-£25,150	link
Poor upkeep and overgrown gardens	-8.2%	-£20,623	link
Structural issues/damage	-5.4%	-£13,581
Bad/nuisance neighbours	-5%	-£12,575
Power stations within local area	-5%	-£12,575	link
Dangerous damp/rising damp	-1%	-£2,515		link
Asbestos	-1%	-£2,515	link	link
Woodworm	-0.5%	-£1,258		link