Worthwhile Waiting

We live in an affluent neighborhood and wish to sell our home. The house next door was purchased and demolished, and the new owners are building a very large home on the lot.

This new home will no doubt increase property values in our neighborhood, so my question is, would it behoove us to wait until the house is built to put our home on the market, or go ahead this spring while all the construction is going on?

I took your question to my favorite appraiser, and he wrote: “I am going to make several assumptions. “1. The writer’s home is in an area where the ‘McMansion’ next door is not out of place for the neighborhood, nor is the writer’s home out of place.

“2. The ‘McMansion’ will not be completed for several more months.

“3. The writer is not compelled to sell the house in the immediate future.

“Starting with those assumptions, I recommend that the writer wait until the house next door is complete.

“The problems of dust, dirt and mud will detract from the neighborhood appeal, as will the noise and construction vehicle traffic. The lack of landscaping, the presence of half completed construction and onsite construction materials and debris are negative issues. The fact that the new neighbors are an unknown factor may also cause some buyer concern — (What if they are wild partiers, motorcycle enthusiasts, etc.)

“Finally, if the house construction bothers the writer, it will in all likelihood be a concern for potential purchasers also.”

So, there you have an opinion from a qualified, experienced, licensed professional. He says to just have patience and hold off.

Contact Edith Lank at www.askedith.com, at edithlank@aol.com or at 240 Hemingway Drive, Rochester NY 14620.