The addition of a fence to your home can serve several purposes. It can be used for privacy, it can stop wild animals from getting into your yard, and it can help to keep you pets and children in the yard. But did you know that it can also add to the value of your home when you decide to sell it?
On average, privacy fences are between four and nine feet tall. Based on several factors such as material and maintenance, installing a privacy fence will increase the marketability of your home when you decide to sell the property.
Here are some ways a fence can increase the value of your home.
Position of the Fence
Having a nice fence can have decorative benefits like enhancing the appearance of your yard and home as a whole. If you live in a home with an aesthetically undesirable view out back, a strong, tall fence can block the view and create a much more desirable view of your backyard.
You may not think about it but if the fence is placed correctly and is of a certain standard, it can have a big impact. For example, a fence in the front yard may reduce the curb appeal of your home but a fence in the backyard can increase the value of the property.
Monetary Value vs. Purpose Value
While the fence may have monetary meaning for you, it may not to the buyer. Most homeowners like to have privacy in their backyard and a nice fence can be the perfect solution for them.
Homeowners that have pets or children may have a fence as a prerequisite when buying a home and could be reluctant to purchase your home without one. Rather than spending money on installing a fence themselves, they may think that a higher price on a house with one already installed is worth the extra price. For the buyer, this will cut down on the time they don’t have a fence and they may think it will cost more for them to purchase the fence later.
Fencing Material
An important aspect that could be the difference of whether or not your fence becomes a valuable asset or forces the value of your property down is the fence’s material. Wooden fences or other solid fences like concrete or cast iron could potentially net at least 50 percent of the cost of materials and installation on resale. This is mainly due to the look of the fence as solid fences are considered more aesthetically pleasing than other options.
However, not every fence will greatly increase your home’s value. For example, a chain link fence, a style of fence that’s considered less aesthetically pleasing, is a less costly option when installing the fence but it won’t increase the resale value as much.
Professional Installation
Having a professional install your fence can have a huge impact on the value of your home. If the fence is installed to a certain level of quality, it will help the fence stand up over time as it withstands elemental impacts such as weather. Years after installing the fence, the quality will hold and increase the value of your home when you’re ready to sell without significant additional investment in the fence.
If you attempt to install the fence yourself, the lack of experience could result in a fence that lacks the quality necessary to add to the value of your home. In order to ensure the fence doesn’t decrease the value of your home, you may have to make a significant additional investment in the fence before showing the home.
Fence Maintenance
Regardless of how well a fence is built, it still needs to be well maintained over the years. If you install a wood fence, the type of fence most likely to raise the value of your home, it’s important to stain or seal the fence. Doing so will prevent the fence from rotting or being destroyed by termites over the years.
If built by quality material, built at a quality level, and maintained properly over time, installing a fence has the potential of significantly increasing the value of your home when you decide to sell. If you’re considering this type of investment in your home, contact Secure Fence and Rail to ensure that your fence will look good as new when you’re ready to sell your home.