ARTICLE
BY
MANYARA J CHIURA
IMPACT OF YOUR YARD APPEARANCE TO POTENTIAL BUYERS WHEN SELLING A HOUSE
WHEN YOU’RE SELLING your house, you aren’t just selling your house. You’re also selling your shrubs, your trees. If you suspect your yard is chasing away more potential buyers than it’s drawing in, consider these six landscaping missteps along with suggestions to help spruce up your lot.
Your yard looks unkempt.
You want potential buyers to like what they see on the outside of the home so they’re drawn inside. You may not have the money to create a Zen garden or plant an oak tree that can support a swing, but you can at least keep your grass mowed and edged properly. I also urge sellers to rake and clear dead leaves periodically rather than letting them accumulate.
Look up, When making landscape areas leaf- and debris-free, start at the top. Clean the roof and gutters as needed, and then start on the areas below them.
Your yard looks high-maintenance.
It sounds crazy, but you can overdo your yard. Buyers like to see beautiful landscaping, but if it looks like it’s too much to take care of, it could be a turnoff
It looks great at the beginning of the year when everything’s in place, but by [fall], it looks more like a field. Even when the garden is in full bloom, potential buyers may look at it and see a lot of work ahead for them.
Your unmaintained fish pond/swimming pool may be a turnoff.
A water feature can also repel buyers who are looking for a low-maintenance yard. I think people associate water and ponds with a lot of work,
Safety is another reason some buyers won’t be pleased. A lot of parents are afraid little kids will fall into the pond/swimming pool and drown. In a lot of communities, it’s a requirement to have a fence around a pond, just as you have to have a fence around a swimming pool.
Your trees are too close to your house.
Sure, those trees might give your home a cosy, wooded vibe, but they also hide your house and block the natural light when you’re inside the home. I personally recommend that trees be planted a minimum of 20 feet from your home to account for growth.
The landscape should enhance the structure. You don’t want large plants concealing your home.
But as a general rule, trees are good for the value of your home.
Since you’ve been living there forever, you may not notice the broken fence or that your untended flower garden is something of an eyesore. You may not be the best person to judge how your house looks to outsiders. Because a future homebuyer probably won’t be as attached to the bushes as you are
Really, it comes down to this, if your lawn is mowed and your flower beds are edged nicely and clean, it’s the same effect as seeing a perfectly clean carpet. It shows that somebody cares about the home.