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Make Your Home Stand Out with These Landscaping Tips — Potential home buyers may look at many different factors to purchase a home but it is often the curb appeal that first catches their attention. From a homeowners viewpoint, however, the landscape is either ignored or is not maintained properly when it comes time to sell a home. That is true, even though this part of the curb appeal can increase the value of the home by as much as 10%!
Make Your Home Stand Out with These Landscaping Tips
Rather than trying to jump in with both feet when the sale is pending, it is better to start a few weeks in advance. This will give you plenty of time to leave the right type of impression when it comes time to show the home.
If you wait until the last minute to get the landscaping ready, it is going to look like you waited until the last minute. If you really want to take your landscaping to the next level, implementing the following Houston landscaping ideas can help you to do so and to sell your home as quickly as possible.
Consider Exterior Containers
The entrance to the home can be spruced up significantly by adding container plants. These can vary according to the other landscaping but larger tropical plants tend to do best. In addition to looking good when people come in and out of the home, it also gets their creative juices going when it comes to home design.
Spruce up Your Mulch
The mulch tends to be an area of the home that is typically neglected but throwing down a bag or two can really help to improve the looks of the landscaping. It adds some contrast to the colors of the nearby plants and that isn’t even to mention the fact that it is one of the less expensive things you can do to add curb appeal.
Add Color Instantly
Color is something that can certainly improve the quality of the curb appeal and it is easy to do when you add some annuals to the landscaping. It is fairly inexpensive to do so and you can match the look of a home with vivid colors or even a monochromatic look.
Add Some Water to the Landscaping
There is something about water that really helps to relax people and put them into the right frame of mind to purchase a home. Adding a water fountain near your garden patio is the perfect way to do it. You can also add a stone wall around the water feature that will really help to make it a beautiful item that will grab their attention.
Add Some Shape to the Landscaping
Have you let the trimming of trees and shrubs fall by the wayside? It’s easy to neglect that task but trimming the bushes and trees can really add to the curb appeal and make the home look well-maintained. Any trees or bushes that shed their leaves at the end of the growing season can be trimmed, regardless of the season.
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Give Attention to Perennial Plants
Any perennials or annuals can be tidied up to make the entire landscape bed look better. In some cases, the plant may be beyond repair and so you can either replace it or put something decorative in the area.
Some people want to take some of the plants along with them when they move and this is the ideal time to do it. If a buyer should come to your home and decide to sign the contract, you would need to explain to them that you were removing some of the landscaping if you don’t do it prior to that time. In fact, there may even be laws that limit how much you can do to the landscaping.
Give Your Water Features a Once Over
If you have any existing water features, now is the perfect time to make them look as good as new. This is especially true of any water features that have been collecting algae or that aren’t operating properly. It is better not to have the water feature than to have it not operational.
Fix Your Irrigation Problems
If you have an irrigation system, now is the perfect time to look it over and fix any problems that may exist. Although these issues can be expensive to repair, it can be a roadblock to selling the home. You should also give the potential homeowners as much information as you possibly can about the system and discuss any watering schedules that you may have used in the past.
Check the Faucets
One of the noticeable issues that many people tend to like go is a leaky faucet. Although this may be an isolated problem, it tells the potential buyer that there are other issues with the plumbing.
About 30 minutes before the home show, spray some water in the area. This lets people know that you take care of the landscaping on a regular basis and the wet areas in the pavement and around the plants are going to be a welcome sight. The irrigation system can also be turned on during this time so that there is no question as to whether it works or not.
Label Your Plants
Each plant has its own needs and when the potential buyers know what plants are in the area, they will be better able to care for them. You can label the plants directly or draw up a diagram of the landscaping and leave it for any potential buyers to see. It may seem like a simple step to take but it can have a powerful effect.
Rent a Power Washer
Paved surfaces can get quite dingy and a power washer can bring them back to life. It doesn’t take a lot of effort on your part and you can even clean up other areas of the lawn, including the siding and any fences.
Another way to add to the curb appeal of the home is to use flower boxes. These can be put in any area of the home and you may even want to include a hanging basket or two. Adding flowers along the entranceway to the home is also a nice touch. It is an inexpensive way to spruce things up easily.
If you have any questions as to which plants or flowers can be used in your area, a local nursery can be of great assistance. Although there may be garden centers in your area with the big-name stores, they are part of a larger change so they may not be familiar with your specific area. If you want to play it safe, go with perennials and you will be able to see them grow year after year.
Another recommendation is to ensure that there is not so much landscaping that it keeps the potential buyers from seeing everything that your house has to offer. When the shrubs and trees become overgrown, they are not only an eyesore but they can even damage the home by rubbing up against it when the wind blows.
In addition, it can limit some of the sunlight that gets into the home and offers a bridge to rodents and other animals that would love to make it to your roof.
A chainsaw can be rented if you don’t own one so that you can trim tree branches and cut back a lot of the larger items. A hedge trimmer can then be used to take care of the bushes. If something is covering a window or coming in contact with the home, take care of it by removing it. When you maintain your trees and shrubs, it helps your lawn to grow healthily as well.
Author bio:
Joseph, being an advocate of mother nature, chose being a landscape artist as a profession. He loves different kinds of plants, from flowers to veggies. When he’s free for the day, he joins tree planting activities and writes on different blogs to support his advocacy.
