Landscaping and Curb Appeal Tips for Home Sellers

Homeowners who are serious about selling their home quickly are wise to focus a great deal of their attention on landscaping and curb appeal. That's right, sellers can have the latest trending features inside the home, but if it lacks curb appeal, buyers might not give it a second look. The outside of a home is the first chance to define the potential that awaits potential buyers inside while enabling sellers to ensure that their home stands out, especially in competitive markets like Dilworth Mountain.

General Curb Appeal Tips

Devoting some time to the exterior of your home can make the difference in it selling quickly and taking its time on the market. Keeping everything neat, colourful and inviting is vital for anyone trying to sell their home the right way.

Setting Priorities

It's easy to find yourself devoting time, money and effort toward getting the interior of your home ready. After all, you want potential home buyers to visualize themselves living – and loving – your home enough to want to make the purchase. While all of this is extremely important, make sure that the exterior of your home gets the attention it needs and deserves – or you could find that your home sits on the market for longer than you'd like.

Making a Good First Impression

Making a good first impression is essential in many aspects of life. When selling your home, you might not get a second chance. Expect potential buyers to drive by the house and around the neighbourhood when listing your home. Not only will they be looking at your home, but they'll also be comparing it to your neighbours' as well.

When potential home buyers drive by your home or arrive for a tour, they typically want to see a neat yard that's freshly trimmed, windows that are in good repair and a porch that has been newly painted (if there's a porch). If a home's exterior is cluttered, unruly or shows signs of not being well-maintained, buyers might not stop to find out about all the great features inside.

Keep Up With the Landscaping

It's important to realize that your home's landscaping needs constant attention the entire time it's on the market. While you probably won't need to repeatedly undertake large jobs like painting, installing siding or replacing windows unless something unexpected happens, you'll need to maintain the lawn regularly. This means mowing, watering, and tending to foliage weekly.

Regardless of whether or not the yard has flowers or grass, the lawn must be kept trim and tidy in order to look its best for home buyers. This is especially true of homes with small yards because the smaller the space, the more quickly and easily the lawn can start to look unkempt.

Some home sellers have a hard time keeping track of when to trim and water the lawn when they’re in the midst of selling a house. To ensure that the yard stays looking its best, contact a gardener to cut the grass and maintain the flowers or shrubs.

Revamp the Entry

When a potential home buyer looks at your listing, you want them to visualize walking in the front door. Consider updating your entryway to make it more inviting. Giving your current front door a fresh coat of paint or purchasing a new front door is a great way to do so.

Curb Appeal Ideas for Small Yards

But what if your home has a small front yard? Not a problem — there are several ways to increase your home's curb appeal even when the yard doesn't have much space.

Make It One Big Garden

In a very small yard, small patches of grass can seem a little out of place. One way to make a yard look more natural is to remove the grass and turn the entire patch of lawn into one large garden. Install plants, shrubs and flowers. Leave space between the plants to create a sense of order and prevent the garden from feeling too crowded. Spread out mulch between the plants to finish the job.

Distract With Colour

Planting a variety of colourful plants and flowers in a garden can help attract the attention of buyers, making the house more eye-catching. If the chosen plants are annuals, you can encourage them to grow large blossoms more quickly by removing the existing blossoms as soon as the flowers have been planted. Doing this encourages flowers to fill out and bloom harder than ever.  

If done correctly, these pops of colour can serve to frame a home and highlight the view. Choose flowers and plants that look good most of the year and are easy to maintain. Native foliage is a way to accomplish this.

Put the Right Spin On It

A home may have a small lot, and the house may be just as small, but presenting the property in the right way can attract home buyers seeking to live more simply and efficiently. Use key language in the listing to emphasize the positive aspects of your home’s size and draw in these home buyers. A few key phrases to use in your listing include:  

• Easy to maintain
• Cozy
• Efficient

These are all excellent descriptions that can help home buyers see the benefit of a smaller property.

Stage the Back Yard

Setting a scene is important for boosting curb appeal. Show home buyers that even a small lawn can be a relaxing place to spend time drinking lemonade and relaxing after work. A few props can help with this. Hopefully the yard has a patio or a solid surface where tables and chairs can sit.

If this is not the case, install a small collection of patio pavers in a shaded location on the property. Then set up a table, chairs and soft cushions to help make the space look more inviting. When buyers come to see your home, consider setting out a pitcher with lemonade and a few cups to show that your backyard can be a relaxing oasis.

Keep It Private

One of the downsides of having a home on a small lot is that the neighbours will be close by. The best way to solve this problem and assuage homebuyer concerns about privacy is to put barriers in place that will block the view of the neighbours, giving everyone a little more privacy. There are many ways to do this.

• Plant a row of cypress trees on either side of the house to block the view.
• If you have a deck, add a vertical lattice wall on one or two sides to provide some shade and privacy. To make the wall more attractive, try growing a couple of climbing plants to hide the lattice.
• Purchase a number of tall potted plants and arrange them on either side of the deck or yard to block the view of the neighbours.

Increase Your Home's Value with Curb Appeal

Working with an experienced real estate agent can make it easier to stage a home and add curb appeal. A real estate agent can give you suggestions that will help make any lawn and home more attractive to buyers, which can, in turn, help the home sell for more money. To get started, contact a reputable real estate agent today.