There are some things about your Baltimore home that you may have gotten used to, or don’t bother you, but could affect your house’s value.

Recently there was an article on MSNMoney where they tackled a few of these things.

Your house is different from the majority of the houses around you. If yours is the largest in the neighborhood, your value would be affected by those smaller homes around you. Buyers who are looking for that bigger home would tend to look elsewhere. Add onto that, appraisers would typically assign your home less $$ per square foot than other homes like yours in different neighborhoods.

This also comes into play with improvements. If you have put a lot of money into kitchens and bathrooms, but the neighboring houses have not, then you most likely will not get the money you put into it back when you sell.

You are missing a family room or bedroom. This goes along with “your house is different,” because if you only have three bedrooms but the others around you have four, this will affect who may look at or buy your house. Buyers have come to expect certain things from certain neighborhoods, and if your house doesn’t have what they expect, it could hurt your value in the long run.

Your house is a mish-mash of styles and updates. Your refrigerator broke so you decided to get a stainless one because it would look better over the long run. The problem is if you still have a white dishwasher, a black & white stove, and black microwave, it doesn’t show well. It could very well look like your appliances are starting to fail, and that could be the assumption a buyer makes.

Your home is showing its’ age. Are those floors really getting beaten up? Is your 50 year old front porch looking it? Those could affect value both in resale and in appraisal.

Neighbors. Some of that goes with improvements — if your neighbor tends to decorate the outside of his or her house in loud colors and designs, or leaves trash or junk around, it definitely can bring your value down.

Your Home Owner’s Association (HOA). Many HOAs make their communities better places. They make sure the outsides of houses look good, yards not a mess, and ensure that the neighbor issue from above don’t happen. Some, though, can be very strict, and that can hurt values. Why? If there are lawsuits going on, it could look like trouble. Add onto that, in the long run, it is usually the association’s dues that pay for the lawsuits….so some could worry that their dues would rise.

Your tax assessment is wrong. If square footage, number of bedrooms, or other issues are there, it could affect an appraisal on the property.

So be aware of these items that could affect your house’s value. Remember that buyers are often looking for a home, which includes the neighborhood, neighbors, and surrounding areas. Contact me for ideas on your Baltimore house value, and what you may be able to do to better yours!