LF comments on house features that could knock value down

Most of that list is cosmetic and fixable with some taste and a tidy-up. The one I'd single out as a genuine value drag is a poor EPC, because it's the only feature that hits both running costs and mortgageability. Buyers increasingly price in what a home costs to heat and what it'll take to upgrade, so a cold, inefficient house gets marked down before anyone mentions the kitchen. On the finance side, lenders now reward efficient homes with better green deals, and at the bottom end a very poor rating narrows the options, which matters most for landlords facing tighter energy rules. Fewer or pricier ways to finance a home end up capping what buyers will pay for it. I'd avoid putting a single figure on it, because the effect runs through bills and the size of the buyer pool rather than a fixed discount. But of everything here, EPC is the one worth spending money on before you sell. A new kitchen is taste; insulation cuts bills, widens the buyer pool and only gets more important.

The features that worry buyers most are usually the ones that look like a future bill. A tired kitchen or messy room can be changed, but a poor EPC, ageing windows, damp, or an old conservatory can make people start adding up costs before they have even made an offer. Garden offices can be a plus, but not if they take over a small garden or look cheaply built. I would be wary of putting a blanket percentage on any one feature. The impact depends on the property, location and how much competition there is from better-presented homes nearby.

The biggest value killer is not always something structurally wrong with the house. Sometimes it is simply making buyers feel they are paying to undo somebody else’s taste.

A dated kitchen, dark décor, tired bathrooms or an overgrown garden can create what I call a “mental renovation bill”. Buyers start deducting money in their head before they have even made an offer.

One of the biggest traps is over-personalising space. Turning a bedroom into a permanent cinema room, gym or heavily fitted office can reduce appeal because buyers value flexibility. The same goes for old conservatories: if they are freezing in winter and unbearable in summer, buyers can see them as expensive dead space rather than an extra room.

Low EPC ratings are becoming harder to ignore too. Buyers increasingly think beyond the purchase price to what the home will cost them every month.

In a slower market, ugly is not just cosmetic. Ugly becomes negotiable.

The features that hit buyers hardest aren't the ones you'd expect, they're the ones that cost money after you've moved in. A leasehold flat under 80 years left on the lease crosses into marriage value territory, where extending it gets sharply more expensive and many mainstream lenders start pulling back, shrinking your buyer pool to those who can even get finance. Low EPC ratings do something similar from another angle: Nationwide's own research shows F or G rated homes sell for around 3.5% less than a D rated equivalent, and buyers increasingly weigh future energy bills into what they're prepared to offer. Missing building regs certificates, flying freeholds and doubling ground rent clauses all do the same job in the background. The common thread is buyers pricing in a bill you haven't paid yet.