Investing In Landscape Before You List Your Home Provides A Great ROI

According to HGTV, landscaping is one of the few home improvement projects that is likely to provide a 100% return on investment if you are planning to sell your home. In addition, addressing curb appeal is one of the ten projects that all homeowners should tackle before listing their home. Your home will only get one opportunity to make a good first impression, and that begins long before potential buyers walk through the front door.

The first step in creating great curb appeal is to access the condition of your current landscape. A professionally installed landscape will always provide good flow through the yard. Plant material and its locations should complement the features of your home rather than covering them or detracting from them. This means that there should be a clearly defined path to the front door, plants should not cover windows or other architectural features of your home and everything should be neatly and correctly pruned. A general clean up could be all that you need to spruce up a professional landscape and return it to almost like new.

But if your landscape has been an ongoing do it yourself project, then it is well worth the investment to contact the design professionals at UNIQUE Landscape to assist you with a renovation for your front yard and possibly even your backyard as well. Your designer will be able to offer many great suggestions that can create great curb appeal and still remain within your budget. If your backyard is designed to be an addition to your home which affords outdoor living at its finest, then investing in a renovation there can also be a very sound investment. Prospective home buyers love to see a backyard that reminds them of a luxurious resort!

When you are considering a landscape renovation for your home, also think about the benefits of landscape lighting. When someone is thinking about buying a home, it is not uncommon for him or her to drive by the home many times and one or more of those visits could be at night. Not only will landscape lighting greatly enhance the beauty of your home at night but it will also provide a feeling of security and safety if the yard and walkways are well lit.

With new or updated landscape, it is time to focus on the front of your home. This is the time to show potential buyers that your home offers great outdoor living spaces and a very welcoming front entry. Staging a front porch with chairs and a small table or even a bench can create that inviting feeling. In addition, be sure to add splashes of color with lush, vibrant plants that will draw every guest’s eye right to your front door. But remember that planters or pots, as well as the furniture, need to be in proportion to the size of the patio or entryway to avoid making the area feel cramped or too small.

And the final step is addressing all of the tiny details of your entryway. Be sure that the area is completely clean and free of dust and cobwebs. Another very inexpensive but important detail is the house number. Adding fresh new numbers or a new coat of paint to the existing numbers will grab a buyer’s attention and make a great impression. If the house numbers are a metal tone, try to match the hardware for the front door with the same tone or color. And place a fresh, new welcome mat to greet potential buyers.

With the entryway clean and inviting and the landscape spruced up, you are certain to have many buyers eager to see the rest of your home and the property. And in most cases, the amount that you invested will be recovered in a higher sale price as well as a faster sale.