If you want to know what sells or what creates problems when trying to sell a house, talk to a realtor. They have seen it all and the reality is that realtors have to work through all kinds of deals and challenges. One of the biggest examples of this comes with a major area of the home, the landscape or yard.
It may not seem like an important part, but the landscape sets the tone for what a property can be. When buyers look at your listing the first time, it’s the yard that will get their interest first and foremost. They will look for the yard as a major selling point, even over the kitchen or bathrooms depending on what they are looking for. Investing in your yard is a great way to get real value on your property.
Landscaping Tips Before Listing Your Home
Before you list your home, talk to your real estate agent and discuss your options as far as what you need to improve and what you can improve in a short period of time before listing. You may not be able to remodel a kitchen, but upgrading some appliances can help. You may not be able to put in a pool, but improving the yard can make a difference. Here are some tips to think about:
- Lawns are green, grass or artificial, but green: Some people want to get creative with their yards and have all mulch or rock or something else. Green sells because green gives people an idea of a fun and enjoyable home. It tells them the house is nice and they will enjoy their time there. Keep it simple and keep it green.
- Simple clean up and maintenance: Grass is great but turf is becoming more popular for several reasons including maintenance and cleaning up. If someone is not into yard work and they are looking at a house with a clean yard that’s easy to maintain it will stand out.
- Make sure the yard is to code: The buyer’s realtor will check to make sure that the yard is to code.
- Improve the driveway: Do what you can to improve the driveway, seal cracks, paint it, or get a new one if it works in the budget.
- Neat and clean yards: Again, you want there to be no clutter, no sports equipment laying around and not debris of any kind in your yard. The cleaner the better.
- Be prepared to have to pay for tree removal: If you have a tree that is a danger to the house because of storms, or needs to be removed for any reason, the buyers may want you to have it done or discount the agreement price.
- Fix all sprinkler issues: Turn your sprinklers on and go around your yard and fix whichever ones are not working properly. The buyer’s realtor will check this as well.
A good realtor will check on things like making sure the property is up to code as well as things are working. The inspection will cover a lot of similar things as well. That’s why when you are thinking of selling, it’s best to have a walk through with a realtor to see what they recommend as far as improvements you can make to your home or yard.
