How Improving the Appearance of Your Lawn and Garden Increases Home Value

If you are thinking about selling your home, then you need to spend the time to make your property perfect inside and out. By ensuring that the home is in good repair and presentable to the public, you can increase the value of your home and earn top dollar when the final offer comes in. While most people put a lot of their effort into the interior, it is important that you also make sure that your front and back yard are in great shape. After all, the exterior is the first thing that a potential buyer will see, and you want to set yourself up for success.

Before you put your home on the market, read on to learn how the appearance of your lawn can increase your home value and some ideas for how you can perfect the space today.

Why the Lawn Should Be Your Priority

Even if you are not selling your home in a competitive market, it is still important to stand out from the crowd, and the way your yard and the exterior of your home look is an essential part of making a good impression. When buyers are walking up to your house to get a tour, they will immediately start to form an impression if they see that your home is not in good repair. They will look to see if shingles are missing or falling off, and they will look at the condition of your yard.

While everyone wants to be proud of the appearance of their house, many families also have big ideas for fun activities that they want to do with their yard. Some people want to put in a pool, others have plans to add a playground, and some people just like the idea of having a lawn packed with vibrant green grass.

The lawn is so important that many homebuyers may actually offer more for your house just so they can have it. In fact, recent numbers show that professional landscaping and a clean appearance could allow you to add 15 to 20% more to your asking price, and depending on the type of market, that could add up to potentially thousands of dollars that could be in your pocket.

That is why it is worth it to take a walk around your home and look for areas of improvement and make a plan to fix up the trouble areas. While you are out there, you can look at other potential issues, like the condition of your foundation, and make the necessary repairs before you put the house on the market.

A Sustainable Yard Could Bring in More Money

Now that you know that having a clean lawn can increase the value of your home, you can look to make higher profits by also making it sustainable. More people are thinking about the environment these days, and sustainability is a focus for many people in the home market, with many even willing to pay a higher price if your home comes complete with eco-friendly features.

The good news is that you can make sustainable choices inside and outside of your home while beautifying your lawn in the process. You can start small by incorporating solar-powered lighting in your yard with solar lanterns along your driveway, solar-powered flood lights for security overnight, and solar string lights for entertaining on those warm summer nights.

Many people like the idea of growing a garden so they can provide their own fruit and vegetables, but they don’t know how to get started. One way that you can help is by adding your own garden in the backyard that the buyer can take over once they move in. Add extra flair by putting in a brick perimeter and decorative rocks. If a potential buyer is interested in gardening, then this could be a major selling point. You can also make a similar impression by adding a compost bin to your yard.

Ensuring a Plush, Green Yard

Even if you don’t have all of the bells and whistles, you can still draw in hungry buyers by ensuring that your yard stays soft, plush, and green. You can do that with smart watering practices. By watering your yard once a week, you will encourage the roots of your grass to grow deeper, which will make your grass more vibrant over time. If you want to stick with the sustainability plan, then you can put barrels outside to collect the rain and reuse that during the dryer seasons.

It is also important to keep unwanted pests out of the yard. Grubs and chinch bugs can cause harm to your grass as many of them leave larvae just below the soil surface that feast on the roots of your grass. You can prevent pests by spraying a pest control solution that is available at most retailers. It is also a good idea to try to keep irritating bugs like mosquitos out of your yard, as they could turn potential buyers off. You can keep mosquitos at bay by putting out a citronella candle, calling an exterminator, and maintaining your yard so there is no standing water that will attract the pests.

While the grass may be the star, it is also essential that you make it a habit to trim the hedges and any bushes that you have on the property. Also, consider planting some perennial shrubs in the front of your house to add color that can really make your property pop. Finally, think about adding flower beds around the base of your trees for a final beautiful touch.

It is important that you improve the appearance of your lawn if you want to make top dollar on your home sale. Implement these ideas into your yard, and you can perfect your curb appeal.