How Richmond Home Sellers Can Handle Neighbors When Selling
Most Richmond home sellers fail to consider their neighbors when they are getting ready to sell their house. They are busy thinking about how to prepare their Richmond house for sale, how to boost their curb appeal and what listing price to choose.
However, if you are getting ready to sell your neighbors can play a major role in the process.
If you have spent hundreds or thousands of dollars boosting the curb appeal of your yard, but share property lines with a house that doesn’t care about their curb appeal, it can hurt potential sales. When a buyer pulls up in front of your house and notices the house next door with broken shutters, uncut grass, and an aggressive looking dog, you could be in for some trouble.
Use these tips for Richmond home sellers to help deal with neighbors during the process of selling your house.
Build Relationships
A good relationship with your neighbors is important for many reasons. You should invest a little time into getting on the good side of your neighbors before even listing your house if you aren’t already.
There are many instances when neighbors are involved in the sale of a house due to issues with the property lines, fences, easements, and many other issues. If you have a good relationship with your neighbor then they can help you out. However, if your neighbor and you have been at odds they can see this as an opportunity to take advantage of you.
Communicate with Your Neighbors
There are many nosy neighbors, but there are also many people who just want to know what is going on and how it affects them. After all, once you sell your house and move out, the new owners become the problem of the neighbor. Keep them in the loop with the process and what you know.
Pay for Work that Needs to be Completed
If your neighbor’s house or yard needs work on the curb appeal and it is dragging down your property value you might want to consider paying for the work to be done yourself. This is an area where you should tread lightly to not insult the feelings of your neighbor.
However, if increasing their curb appeal, improves the ability of your house to sell, it might be worth spending the money. But, be aware that you will be fronting the bill, not making the decisions. It is not your house and you will not necessarily have say in what contractors are used or what work is completed.
Dealing with neighbors when selling your Richmond house is a good time to remember the old rule: “treat others the way you want to be treated.” Think through how you would want your neighbors to treat you if they were selling their house and then do the same for them. Make them aware of your plans and how the process is moving with the sale. This way they can be prepared for anything that comes next that will have an impact on them, like a new set of neighbors.