What Does Your Yard Tell Prospective Buyers

Please Share:

When you’re getting ready to sell your home, it’s easy to concentrate on what buyers will see once they step through the front door. However, they’ve already started forming an opinion long before that point.

Some links in this post are affiliate links, which means I receive a commission if you make a purchase.

Indeed, your outside decor, the lawn, trees and pathways, can make the property look well cared for, or it can suggest there is a long list of jobs waiting for its next owner. In fact, 92% of real estate agents recommend curb appeal improvements before you decide to list your home for sale.

Unsplash – CC0 License

Fix the Problems Buyers Will Notice First

Start with maintenance rather than transformation.

This means:

Mowing the lawn
Removing weeds
Pruning overgrown shrubs
Refreshing mulch
Replacing dead plants

You also want to make sure the vegetation isn’t covering windows or blocking paths.

These may seem like ordinary jobs, but they can be surprisingly effective. In fact, landscape maintenance could recover over 100% of its cost at resale.

So, this is your sign to concentrate on making the existing garden look healthy and maintained without needing to go overboard with design.

Make Trees a Priority

Trees are easy to overlook because they’ve been part of your yard for years, and they may even have already been there when you bought the house. However, your buyers will be seeing those trees for the first time, so you want to ensure they do look the part.

Healthy and well-maintained trees will add character and maturity to your property. On the other hand, there’s no denying that buyers are going to notice dead branches and excessive, uncared-for growth and reassess their price offer. Besides, they may decide that this is too much work or can represent too many future costs, and decide against making an offer.

So tree care is a no-brainer, and it can truly help boost property value.

Decide What You Can Realistically Do Yourself

Simple maintenance can be handled without outside help. But beyond achievable DIY weekend projects, you need to be realistic. You are not a professional gardener, nor do you have the necessary equipment for landscaping.

That is why bigger garden jobs are different. Knowing when to hire a professional landscaper can prevent an ambitious DIY project from becoming something you need to have repaired before buyers arrive!

Professional assistance makes sense in many situations, whether you are handling excessive overgrowth, drainage problems, hardscaping, or a change of design.

Make Your Yard Easy to Inherit

The last thing you need to do when selling is try to make the outdoor space look complicated. An elaborate garden may be beautiful, but most buyers will immediately worry about the hours they’ll be spending maintaining it.

So focus on keeping things tidy and ensuring pathways and patios are clean and usable. Your goal is for buyers to see the possibilities without presenting them with the responsibilities of it first.

When you’re preparing your yard for sale, you are not creating an impressive landscape that will steal the show. You need to focus your energy on removing negative distractions and worries.

This means that the yard should be tidy and maintained with healthy plants and clear paths. There is no need to invest in complex and expensive features, as you are unlikely to recover their costs.

This is a contributed post.

Open House Cleaning Checklist Printable

Printable Moving Labels To Organize Boxes By Rooms They Will Go In

Printable 30 Day Moving Plan, 17 pages

30 Day Moving Checklist, 2 pages

Home Moving Planner Insert Pages for House Move Binder

Printable Blank Door Hangers so movers know which room is Bedroom 3 and Bathroom 2, for example

Decluttering Plan

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT MOVING

PREPARING YOUR HOME FOR SALE BEFORE IT GOES ON THE MARKET

QUICK HOUSE SHOWING CLEANING CHECKLIST: THINGS TO DO BEFORE AN OPEN HOUSE

PACKING TIPS FOR MOVING FROM A LARGE FAMILY HOMESCHOOLING MOM WITH EXPERIENCE