Published on : Mon, 10 Oct 2005 06:48GMT
by : Paul Dyson

LONDON - If you are planning to sell your home, make sure that your neighbor's garden is spick and span and there are no revolting smells around for the Yorkshire Bank's latest Housebuyers Survey found that the mess in your neighbor’s garden puts off potential buyers.

The Survey had around 400 participants and 34 percent confirmed that they would take the state of the neighboring house into consideration before making an offer. About 22 percent said that unusual smells would put them off.

"When selling their home, most people think of giving it a spruce up so it looks its best for potential buyers. However, our research shows sellers should try giving their neighbors a nudge to do the same," said Gary Lumby, head of retail at Yorkshire Bank. Almost 31 percent of the potential buyers said that they preferred to move into a house that did not need further sprucing up, in other words any DIY work.

"Buyers are becoming increasingly fussy, with many now put off buying before they've even stepped foot inside a house. It is perhaps no surprise that buyers prefer to buy properties that need no work. Rising house prices in recent years have stretched the purse strings of buyers to such an extent that there is now less to spend on DIY or bigger improvements," said Lumby.

The survey found that the smell of fresh coffee and baking bread was a big turn on, while the smell of stale smoke put people off. Buyers in South West England were found to be the fussiest with 47 percent saying that an overgrown garden would turn them away and 30 percent admitted that dirty smells would repel them.