How Much Home Can You Afford?
The outside of your home is the first thing potential buyers will see. Keep this in mind when it comes time to put your home on the market. Many home sellers focus largely on the inside of the property, which is extremely important- but this is not a time to overlook the first impression your home makes from the street.
There are a few simple things you can do as a home seller to make your house more instantly appealing. If potential buyers get a good feeling on their way in, they’re much more liable to like what they see once they get inside.
The first step is grass.
If you have it, great. Cut it neatly and trim the edges. If you have grass but it leaves a lot to be desired- for example, if you more weeds than actual grass- you can still make a good impression by keeping it neatly trimmed. If you haven’t noticed, neatly cut weeds look a lot like grass. It’s not ideal, but it’s better than nothing. If your lawn is in bad shape and has bare patches, invest in some grass seed. Sod would make the ultimate impression, but most home sellers are reluctant to put down the cash this requires, and there’s no guarantee that sod will grow anyhow. Put out fast-growing grass seed, string off the area, and let potential buyers know that you’ve made the first step towards giving the house a nice green lawn.
Shrubbery is another inexpensive and important factor for homes on the market.
It’s worth the small investment to plant some bushes near the front door, or near low-lying windows where privacy might be a concern. It’s a known fact that people respond well to bushes planted at the end of a sidewalk, framing the entrance into a yard, so if your walkway is bare consider a bush on either side of it. A few blooming flowers from your local nursery will also help. Don’t worry if they look freshly planted. You don’t need to fool people into thinking they’ve been there forever; you just want to show that you’ve made some good effort, and that the yard has good landscaping potential.
And that’s the last trick:
We said “potential.” One of the worst things a home seller can do is over-landscape their lawn. Buyers will get a crowded impression if they can’t turn around in your yard without running into a brick path or a bed of flowers. Leave some open space and let buyers imagine how they would design the area if they owned the house. Your potential buyers might have children, and want the open yard space for a jungle gym or play area. So keep the design loose and generic, and don’t spend too much time or money on landscaping to sell.
All you really need are the few small details that will make a good first impression.
