Will removing junk cars and junk located on your property improve home value?

I get two to three homes that have a variety of junk located on or around their home. Some of the junk is minor and maybe even typical. Let me describe what typical junk is. I drive up to your home. You have five acres of land. There is a gravel road leading to your home. To the left of your home is a garage. Next to the garage you have four snow tires from last year. Around to the side of your garage you have several sheets of wood that you used for a remodeling project last year. I walk around to the back of your home. You have a chicken cage and some chicken wire, chicken feed and a pile of wood you’re in the process of splitting. This is typical of many homes that I appraise. These type of material located around your home will not decrease the value of your home. This material will take a matter of a day to three days to clean up or straighten out.

Now let me tell you what will decrease the value of your home. I drive up to your property. There is a large fence around the front of your property with a half finished outbuilding to the side of your home. You own 4.5 acres of land and you are running a recycling center on the property.

There are small roads located on your property with each road leading to a pile of recycled material. There is a pile of aluminum scrapes in one pile. There is a pile of old rusty cars in another pile. Across the other side of the road, there are 11 rusty cars and trucks that you’ve parted out over the years.

I walk around the property and find piles and piles of material. Some of the items I’ve noticed includes piles of tires, piles of aluminum cans, half finished buildings made from recycled material, piles of old computer monitors, piles or refrigerators, piles of microwaves and the list goes on and on.

Now to the owner of this material there is plenty of value, as this is how the owner makes his living is by selling recycled material, but for the home value, it may be a different story. Nine times out of ten, this junk will decrease the value of your home to a minimum of the estimated dollar amount to remove all of the material on your property, check and clean up any contaminated soil and replant grass on the property.

The only case that this may not decrease the value of your home is if the real estate appraiser can find comparable properties offering similar utility with similar appeal as your property. In this case and in most residential homes, this will be extremely rare. A typical home buyer will not want to purchase your recycled materials, nor will they want to purchase your home with junk cars, debris, and recycled garbage located throughout the property.

So to answer your question, yes, junk cars and old junk located on your property may decrease the value of your home. Even if the real estate appraiser can prove this, the bank will most likely make you remove or clean up significant junk in your yard before they give you a loan.