When it rains or snows, the water pools on your roof and slides down the sidings and walls to pool near and under your house. And without gutters to drain this water away, your roofing will be compromised, and the house’s foundation will deteriorate.
Gutters might not attract attention like other exterior elements on your property, like a well-maintained landscape or a freshly painted fence. Nevertheless, without functional gutters, your property might be in danger.
So, do gutters add value to your home? Will they affect the price if you’re trying to sell your property?
You’ve come to the right place because we’ll answer all your questions regarding this topic, so let’s dive in.
Do Gutters Add Value to Your Home?
Dispute being crucial, having gutters installed doesn’t directly impact the price of your property.
Gutters are like the wheels of a vehicle. In order to sell a car, they should be installed and maintained.
They collect the water from rain, hail, and snow and direct it through pipes that later empty into a drainage system away from your house. Some people collect the rainwater and use it for their plants.
Clean and painted gutters can improve the exterior look of your property, but this is not their primary job.
Without functioning gutters, your house’s value might decrease because they play a crucial role in protecting its foundation and preventing the growth of mold and mildew, especially if you live in an area where it rains regularly.
Statistics show that water damage affects about 14,000 people daily in the US, explaining the importance of having good gutters on your property.
As a matter of fact, the cost of installing, repairing, and painting gutters can be deducted from your property’s value. Yet it won’t affect its market price.
Homeowners have several options when it comes to choosing good gutters to install regarding the material and type. Some affordable options cost as low as $600, while some expensive gutters cost up to $8000.
While installing gutters, you should also consider the cost of maintaining, cleaning, and painting them to keep them in perfect shape.
What Happens When You Buy a House Without Gutters?
Without gutters, the water will pool on the roof and run down the walls of your house to collect under its foundation. The absence of gutters will jeopardize your roofing, cause basement flooding, and facilitate the growth of mold and mildew.
Moreover, gutters play a crucial role in protecting the overall look of your home’s exterior. They can also protect landscaping from damage.
If you live in an area where gutters are essential, and you’re trying to sell your property, the appraiser will probably provide you with what is called a cost to cure.
This is a rough estimate of what the new homeowner will have to pay to install functional gutters.
So, although having good gutters won’t increase the market value of your home, their absence might affect its price if you’re trying to sell it.
Signs You Need to Install Gutters
Gutters aren’t a building code requirement but might be necessary in the following cases.
- Your home is located at the bottom of a hill or a slope, so rainwater collects around its foundations.
- Your basement floods regularly. This happens as the water pools around the foundations, and minor leaks allow it to enter and flood your basement, ruining any valuable items you might have kept there.
- You have a roof overhang that doesn’t extend away from the sidings, so water puddles are created around the house.
- You have clay soil around the house that collects and retains the water, unlike gutters that push the water into a drainage system.
- The sidings on your house show signs of rot, mold, or mildew due to continuous exposure to moisture.
- You can see troughs around your landscaping that ruin its look, indicating that water pours constantly.
Are Gutters Absolutely Necessary?
In most cases, gutters are necessary. When it rains, the water doesn’t pool on top of your roof, but it falls down the pipes to be expelled away from your house’s foundations.
However, if you’re buying a house, you might see that it’s in good condition, even though it doesn’t have gutters. This might happen for the following reasons.
- You’re buying an ancient house. Properties that were built about 100 years ago didn’t have gutters.
- You live in a dry area, and it doesn’t rain that much, so there’s no need to install gutters.
- Your house is located on top of a hill, so it has a natural water runoff, and the rainwater won’t pool around the foundations.
- Your roof has a steep slope, and the water doesn’t collect on top of it.
- You have an installed overhang that pushes the water away from your house, so you won’t have to worry about water damage affecting your foundations. A good overhang should be about a foot long to protect your property.
- Concrete paths and sidewalks surround your house, so it’s not susceptible to the accumulation of rainwater.
Final Thoughts
Gutters collect rainwater and direct it away from the house to prevent water damage. However, they don’t directly affect your property’s market value.
Yet, if you live in an area where having gutters is a must, their absence can lower your house’s price because the new owner will have to install them.
Nevertheless, gutters aren’t legally required. As a matter of fact, they might not be that useful in certain situations.
Ben has a bachelor’s degree in construction engineering. When not constructing or remodeling X-Ray Rooms, Cardiovascular Labs, and Pharmacies, you can find him at home with wife and two daughters. Outside of family, He loves grilling and barbequing on his Big Green Egg and Blackstone Griddle, as well as working on projects around the house.
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