7 Common Garden Features That Will Devalue A Home

1. Japanese Knotweed 

Japanese Knotweed is the most well-known and feared of all garden problems and needs to be professionally removed before a house is sold. A buyer can sometimes argue the price of the property down by 10% if the house has previously had Knotweed. Depending on the extent of the growth, it can cost between £5,000 and £20,000 to remove Knotweed yourself.

2. Artificial grass

To remove artificial grass and replace it with natural grass costs around £150 per square metre. If there are other houses for sale in the area that have natural lawns, you may be looking at a 5% reduction in the sale value. Most buyers do not like artificial grass. The main exception to this is family homes, as artificial grass can be a low-maintenance option.

3. Outdoor water features

Depending on the size of the water feature, and how it is ‘plumbed’ into the garden, this could knock between £2,000 and £8,000 off the property. Many buyers will see outdoor water features as a pain to maintain and would want to have it removed if they purchased the house.

4. An unkept garden

Most buyers don’t want to do much work themselves, so leaving your garden unmanicured can knock 1-2% off the sale value of your home. Keeping your garden manicured and free of clutter is an essential part of staging, especially in cities such as London where gardens are viewed as a bit of a luxury. 

5. Broken fencing and cracked walls

Upkept fences are used for privacy, stopping wild animals, and keep pets/children in the garden – a broken fence allows potential buyers to knock value off your property. It's estimated that broken fence panels or cracked walls at propery boundaries can remove £1,000 from the value of a home. 

6. Swimming pool or hot tub

Buyers are often very reluctant to buy a property with a swimming pool as they cost an estimated £2,737.50 to maintain per year*, which many people are not willing to pay. As exciting as it would be for some, buyers with young children will also be considering the safety element of having a pool, as well as the proportion of the garden that has been taken up.

7. Outdated garden décor

Household Landscaping quotes an average cost of £3,950 to redo an outdated garden, which could potentially be taken off your final selling price. A purchaser is likely to factor in a budget to rectify this to suit their own tastes. Garden furniture is replaced less frequently than that inside the house, as a result, there are potential isse#ues with it appearing outdated. 

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