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Home Purchases
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More Selling Info:
-Determining
a Sale Price
-Removing
Clutter
-Preparing the Interior
-Preparing the Exterior
-Creating
Curb Appeal
-Landscaping
Tips
-Selling in the Winter
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LANDSCAPING TIPS
If you are
selling your home, what would any potential buyers see if they
looked at your house today? A dead tree? Perhaps overgrown bushes?
Or, maybe a clear view of your neighbor's tool shed?
If the answer is 'yes' to any of these, then you have an inexpensive
chance of
improving your home's curb appeal.
By spending $500 to $2,000 on materials and plants, and dedicating a
day or so of effort, you can accomplish a well-landscaped appearance
without paying a lot of money for professional help.
Not only will you enjoy having a better looking yard, nice
landscaping adds more value than almost any other type of
home renovation. In fact, you can expect your home's value to
increase between 5 - 11 percent in price as a result.
If you have no intentions on moving any time soon, landscaping
appreciates over time, still making it a worthy investment.
Deciding what to actually do to your property is going to depend on
how long you anticipate sticking around to enjoy the end product.
If you think you will be selling your property in less than one
year
Cut fresh edges where grass meets mulch. This will make your
lawn well kept. In fact, curving the edge of your flower bed can
increase the value of your home 2%!
In addition, if your foundation plants are overgrown, consider
widening the beds by two or three feet so that the shrubs appear
smaller.
Treat your grass with fertilizer regularly. Even a single
application will help increase the green color of your lawn. A good
idea would be to by a broadcast spreader. This device will allow you
to quickly and evenly distribute fertilizer over a lawn and
typically costs $50 or less.
Adding color to your property is important. Plant some flowers. For
about $1-3/plant, you can cover your yard with impatiens, petunias,
and other small annuals that will flower throughout the current
growing season.
Also you can spend a few hundred dollars on some shrubs and larger
perennials that stand at least three feet high.
If you are looking to make long-term improvements
All overgrown plants should be cut back. Azaleas, hollies,
forsythia, and rhododendrons can be cut down to their stumps since
they fill out with new growth after a season or so.
Remove plants that do not flower and replace with interesting
alternatives that catch your eye. If you do not anticipate moving
for a few years, you can save money by buying smaller plants and
waiting a few seasons for them to reach their full potential.
Consider planting your plants all over your yard instead of just on
your property lines. This will help create depth and make your home
appear farther away from the road. Putting some in close proximity
to your house's corners well help highlight its shape, others near
the street to accentuate the yard, and some in between, where they
can impede negative views and be admired from indoors.
If your backyard is overexposed, consider fencing it off. Even though
it may be nice to say hello to your neighbors, your yard should be a
place of privacy for you and your family.
Planting small small evergreen shrubs is an alternative to fencing
your yard in, although you'll have to wait a few seasons for full
coverage.
Or, instead of pruning those gigantic foundation plants, employ a
landscaper for transplanting them along your property line. As long
as they are in good shape and evergreen, they are an excellent way
for maximizing their worth.
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