When you are considering selling your home there are a lot of things to do to get ready. The landscaping outside the home should be one of the first areas to address. Not everyone has the proverbial “green thumb” and sometimes we needs some help to figure out what we need to do. Here are 5 landscaping things to do when selling your home to get it ready for the market!
- Clean up the landscape. It’s easy to get used to the appearance of your home. If you want your home to stand out to prospective buyers you need to stand back and evaluate it’s exterior. That may mean you need to pressure wash the siding, pickup unnecessary garden tools or houses, or fix up some of the small things that may be broken. You want buyers to get see your as fresh, clean, and neatly organized. Do your house numbers need replaced or repainted? How about the shutters?
- Prune the shrubs and trees. When pruning shrubs you want them to look well maintained. If the bushes are overtaking sidewalks and walkways that doesn’t give the buyers a good impression. Prune them back to make those walkways clear but don’t prune back so much that there isn’t any foliage. Low hanging branches on trees should be pruned up a little to offer enough space to walk beneath. If plants are too overgrown to look good with a pruning consider removing them and replacing them.
- Weed your garden beds. Weeds leave a bad impression so pull them out and get rid of them. If it’s too big of a job hire it out to a professional. Don’t go spray the weeds with weed killer then leave the stems. Brown stems from dead weeds looks bad too.
- Mulch all the beds. Whether you choose an organic mulch like hardwood or a in inorganic rock/stone mulch make sure you don’t put too much too close to the house. The mulch should still maintain a slope away away from the home. I recommend using a hardwood mulch since it is less expensive that rock and stone which will reduce your home preparation costs.
- Plant seasonal annuals. Seasonal annuals are inexpensive and look great. In the fall consider pansies and mums. Mums will look great with seasonal decor until they finish blooming. Pansies will survive through cold weather quite well. Consider also planting ornamental kale for foliage interest. In the spring and summer you have a much wider array of options including marigolds, lantana, verbena, ornamental grasses, ornamental sweet potatoes, and much more. Don’t go too crazy with purchasing plants as you don’t want to spend more than you need to. Consider planting them in pots then you can take the pots with you when you move.
There are 5 basic tips to improve your landscape when selling your home. In general if it doesn’t look good fix it! Also DO get second opinions on your homes appearance. Another person’s eyes may spot something that you didn’t see. Don’t be afraid to hire a professional landscaper. It’s very possible to recoup what you spend on staging a home when it sells!