Your Landscaping Represents You
A good looking home is categorically easier to sell. That's something everybody knows, and although most sellers spend time and money in fixing the interior of the home, they seem to be blind to the appearance of the grounds. The way things look is really important in real estate. You might think of this in terms of packaging a sentimental gift -- it often happens that the cover makes as big an impression as the gift itself.
This is why most real estate agents will advise sellers to pay sufficient attention to the overall appearance of the house, outside as well as in. The outside is vital because the buyer sees it first, and as the saying goes, "There is no second chance to make a first impression." This would determine whether they would even want to consider your house at all. For this reason, some landscaping would be great before selling a home, since this will help you attract attention which gives the home some curb appeal. Curb appeal means it looks good to someone looking from the street. Fail that step, and it hardly even matters what your asking price is or how great the rec room is.
Easy Things to Do With Your Landscaping -- Quickly
There is a lot you could do on the landscaping to upgrade the market appeal of the home. If you are preparing to sell, though, you want to do something that is not very expensive, but which is quick and worthwhile at the same time. These suggestions can get you going the right way.
Top level landscaping. Beyond just a regular trim of the lawn, make an edge with flowering plants of the season. Create a border all around. Flowers always look good. If it is too much for you to plant a bed of flowers, you could just add potted plants in a similar manner.
Fencing matters. It is surprising how much a good fence can add to the appearance of the outside of a home. In places where high fences are the norm (more often in the back yard), they are all too often taken for granted and become ugly. Renewing them by replacing broken-down boards or helping them out by putting in greenery is a good use of your budget. In places where a low fence is used for looks instead of for purposes such as security or privacy, the same is true. For this kind of fence it is less expensive to use attractive components such as a low white picket fence, split log rails, or stones. You can use synthetic fencing materials which are less expensive but no less impressive as a decorative touch. You will need to decide what kind of fencing looks most attractive. Another way is that you could build fencing with hedge plants which would look as good, if not more.
Present a clean and tidy appearance. If you could do nothing else for whatever reason, the minimum is to simply clean up the yards. Pay careful attention to the driveway paving, gutters, and downspouts. These seem to become invisible to you after you have been in a home for awhile. Just being tidy has a large impact on the perceived value to a buyer.
In addition to doing what these suggestions call for, you could also clean or paint the woodwork on both the house and the garage, fix any problems with the windows, polish or replace the doorknobs. It is important to ensure everything looks as near new as you can make it. This will not only increase the value of your property, but also help it to sell fast.
This content was furnished by the Colorado real estate experts at Automated Homefinder.
54-624 Oak Tree
La Quinta, CA 92253
Office: (888) 518-2078 Toll-Free
Fax: (760) 771-1950
Email: info@laquintarealestate.com
