One of the first things your real estate agent will discuss with you when you’re thinking about selling is the importance of “street appeal.” While that includes your front door, windows, exterior light fixtures, walkways, fencing, and your front deck or porch, it’s also all about your yard.
As soon as you decide to sell, you should start the outdoor work, preferably at least a month before you list the house, so that it’s ready for open homes.
Here are a few tips to ensure your home has enough street appeal to get people through the front door:
Hire a Pressure Washer
Great for cleaning bricks, gutters, and paved surfaces, a pressure washer is by far the easiest and most efficient way to clean outdoor surfaces.
As you clean the walkways, make note of any cracked or broken paving stones, check your exterior light fixtures and clear out the bugs that have collected in them. If anything around the house is broken or not working you will need to repair or replace it.
Trim Shrubs and Trees
Now is the perfect time to trim any low-hanging or damaged branches and shrubs that have overgrown the space allotted to them. It won’t just make the place look better, it will invigorate your trees and shrubs and force new growth in the direction you want to encourage it. Be sure to also repair any patches of damaged lawn and rake up any dead leaves and twigs.
Unless you have perennials already planted at the base of your trees, consider investing in some top quality mulch instead of planting annuals later on. Invest in a few extra bags so you can top up the mulch once your house is listed.
Invest in Annuals and Hanging Pots
Keeping a house immaculate while it’s listed for sale is enough work without constantly worrying about the garden as well. To save yourself time, try investing in long-blooming annuals then spread mulch around them so you won’t have to worry about weeding.
You can also consider investing in roll-out flower gardens, seeds embedded in biodegradable material. While germination should only take a week or two, most take five to six weeks for full bloom, so this solution might or might not work, depending on the season and how long you have to prepare before hitting the market.
Lush hanging pots of flowers or some attractive tall planters filled with a variety of flowers and decorative grasses can be a great way to further enhance your entryway.
Remove Anything with Sentimental Value
If you have cherished perennials with a lot of sentimental value (cherished rose bushes, or lily of the valley from your great-grandmother’s home), it’s better to remove them before showing the house. If you don’t have another place to plant them immediately, just put them in pots and make sure the pots are listed as an exclusion when negotiating a sale.
Be sure to listen to any advice your real estate agent has about your garden or overall appearance of the home, it can make a difference in the number and quality of offers you receive, as well as the number of days your house is on the market.
