Tips to make your gutters work for your home sale in San Luis Obispo, California

You may not realize it but one of the most marketable parts of your home is not the brand new swimming pool in the backyard or the newly installed kitchen cabinets.  Instead, it is a rarely noticed, passed over part of every home;s exterior: the gutters.  No, gutters are flashy but they serve an integral purpose in protecting your home from damage.  Gutters sit just below the roof and collect and push water away from your home’s foundation.  Without gutters, your home would be susceptible to eroding soil, moisture issues like peeling paint and rotted siding, and foundation damage.  

A gutter system consists of:

• The gutter itself: captures water shedding off the roof
• End cap: closes the end of the gutter
• Fascia bracket: attache to eaves and supports gutters from below
• Downspout:  conveys water from the gutter to the ground
• Downspout brackets: secures the downspout to the side of the house
• Elbow: changes the direction of the downspout 

All of these components need to be installed properly, inspected, and repaired if necessary to keep the gutter system working correctly.  

Do gutters increase home value?  

Yes and no.  A fresh set of top of the line gutters won’t drastically increase your home’s value.  However, if your home is inspected and your gutters are either non-existent or damaged your home value will decrease and not by a little.  Gutters in poor condition could detract between $500 and $1,000 from the value of your home.  Since the real estate market is cooling off and shifting toward a neutral market due to inflation and rising mortgage rates, small fixes like gutter repairs or replacements will help you sell your San Luis Obispo, California home.  While gutters won’t drastically increase value, they can work as a marketing tool.  Here’s how.

Install Gutters Correctly

Sure it seems easy to climb up a ladder and screw a few gutters into the side of your house.  But gutter installation is actually a bit more tricky when you consider the angle that the gutters need to sit as well as the position in which the water needs to run off to stay away from the house.  A professional will be able to correctly level the gutters so that no standing water will be left to pool up in them which could lead to ice damming in cold areas and an accumulation of mosquitos in warmer climates.  A professional will also place downspouts and elbows in an area where the rain can run quickly and efficiently away from your foundation.  

Match your gutters to your home

Standard size for gutters is six inches so stick with those if you have a smaller home.  If you have a larger home you can opt for eight inch gutters.  Choose gutters that are the same color as your outdoor trim so that they fit seamlessly with your home.  You should also stick with standard gutter materials.  Choose a seamless gutter which looks cleaner and more professional.  As far as materials go you can choose between:

Aluminum: 

• Resist corrosion
• Lightweight
• May break under heavy pressure

Metal

• Stronger than aluminum
• Heavy 
• Expensive
• Difficult to install

Vinyl or plastic

• Cheapest
• Easy to install
• Easily dicolor
• Weakest option

Finally, you can add gutter guards to your gutter system that will stop leaves and other debris from building up.  These mean less cleaning and could add a bit more value overall during the appraisal process.  If you are considering selling your home or if you need to sell your San Luis Obispo home fast, make a gutter repair or replacement a top priority.  While it won’t add tons of money to your home’s value it will keep the value from falling and make your home more marketable.