Help your seller update their landscape

What is one of the first things a buyer sees when arriving to look at a home they are considering for purchase?

If you answered the lawn, you are not alone. The landscape of a for-sale home is easily overlooked, as sellers struggle to decide what to fix and update on their home, and what to leave as-is. However, just a little bit of work goes a long way in fixing up a lawn. Blanche Evans offers five easy suggestions on updating the landscape on a seller’s home.

1. Get rid of anything dead. Dead leaves, flowers, and trees do nothing for curb appeal. Snip it, rake it and bag it. When finished, there will be blank areas, and these areas can be filled with fresh flowers, small bushes, potted plants or yard art. No Gnomes or flamingoes need apply.
2. Cut and weed the grass. A lawn should be freshly mowed each week, and weeds should be pulled or sprayed so the texture of the grass will be more pleasing.
3. Replace or hide leggy bushes. Nothing makes a front entry look more dated than bushes with longer legs than torsos. Suggest sellers pull them out and replace them, or if it’s more expedient, plant boxwoods or other small bushes in front. Blank areas can be also be covered with mulch, wood chips or gravel.
4. Improve both hardscapes and softscapes. Decorative stone, tile, brick, concrete or wood can add a lot of appeal to the softer elements such as flowers, plants, grasses and ground cover. Landscaping doesn’t have to end at the porch. Bring color and vitality to the entry with potted plants and flowers.
5. Light the way. Landscape lighting doesn’t have to be expensive. Lanterns to line the walk, or the occasional uplight for the trees can have a glamorous effect on the exterior of the home. Lighting provides security as well as spotlights to call attention to something, whether it be a beautiful tree, a flower bed or an architectural element of the house.

If your seller wants to improve their landscape, but doesn’t know the first thing about it, Evans suggests visiting the local supply store and asking for some ideas. Bringing along a photo of the home helps. Your seller most likely will get some great, free advice.