How Important is Landscaping?
We’ve all heard the adage “don’t judge a book by its cover.” The same has to apply to potential new homes, especially if you’re hoping to judge the inside of a house by how the yard looks.
Realtors will often tell home sellers that they need to and spruce up the yard if they hope to sell their home for the price they’re looking for. While that’s a great selling point, the truth is that what the land looks like has nothing to do with what a house is worth. What does matter more is how much land there is, and what the condition or type of the land might be.
For instance, if you see a lot of foliage all over the yard, you know that the land underneath is arable, meaning you will probably have a nice, lush green lawn, and can plant any other plants or flowers you choose. If it’s rocky, there might not be much you can do with the land, and therefore the person you’re hoping to purchase the home from might not have had any idea what to do with it either.
Sometimes land that looks bad might be indicative of what’s coming in the home. There was one home I looked at where the land surrounding the house had been allowed to just grow like the swamp the entire neighborhood had been built on. Much of the foliage had also grown onto the house, and you could see where it looked like some of it might have broken through the wood and into the attic. The inside of the house was designed okay, but the entire house had an odd smell that came from both the foliage on the outside of the house, and the open greenhouse that was inside the house, with whatever they were growing in the house still sitting in pots, much of it rotted away.
In other cases, some families allow foliage to grow because they’re looking for extra protection and privacy. Yet, when you walk through those houses, they look immaculate, stylish, and may be just what you’ve been looking for.
The thing about a lawn is that, if there’s something growing, you can cut it down at very little cost, and then you can landscape however you want to. Maybe you want to remove some trees; maybe you like the trees, but need some branches cut down. Or you may even not care about any of it, and decide to pave it all over.
Whatever your choice happens to be, don’t let the yard deter you from potentially finding the house of your dreams. Who knows, you might be able to try to use it as a negotiating tool to bring the price down a little bit.
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A great uncle of mine bought a house with a garden that was just boulders and yet somehow he managed to grow potatoes. If you are determined enough, it’s amazing what you can do with a plot of land.
Some recent home buyers in San Diego are learning this lesson the hard way. San Diego has recently implemented water restrictions due to severe drought conditions. We’re limited to watering lawns a maximum of 3 times per week for up to 10 minutes per watering station. Some homes that had been landscaped with tropical foliage are now looking very sparse as the greenery turns brown and in many cases dies all together. This may be an unusual circumstance, but you can never tell what will happen to landscaping. It is the home and the lot that’s important.
Geoff@San Diego Real Estate´s last blog ..San Diego Home Buyers Insurance
Showed a home just this past Monday where the front yard was barren (everything is typically nice and green here). Owner appeared to have over-fertilized, then not watered the yard. It was burnt to a crisp and stood out like a sore thumb in this luxury neighborhood.
Then we get inside and it is one of the most immaculately staged and decorated homes I’ve been in. Crystal clean with beautiful appointments everywhere. My buyers could not get past the front yard.
To each his own, but in this particular instance, the yard killed the deal – they bought a home with modest landscaping – nothing to die for – but they didn’t want the hassle of the “dead yard,” as they called it.
Augusta GA Homes
Navy Chief, Navy Pride
Joe Loomer (USN Ret.)
Associate Leadership Council, Growth Chair
Keller Williams Realty Augusta Partners
It is tough to do much with a landscape in the middle of a drought and buyers should understand this.
It’s very true that when buying a property, if the back yard is in a mess, often you can get a great deal. I once bought a property and saved over 5 grand, just because the yard was in a mess.
I are disagreeing about this. One of us says that it’s not that important. If we make it great on the inside, they won’t care if we have pretty flowers and new mulch. The other one thinks that if the landscaping is not fairly updated (not spectacular, but nice mulch and a few flowers) that people will drive by and not want to come inside. What do you think? Is it that important? Also, are there any sites that tell you how much different improvements that you make to your house will increase it’s value?what you say
Daniel Corporate Housing´s last blog ..Stylish and affordable rental homes
Experts would certainly know what to look for. But the typical consumer would look at the whole experience, or maybe judge the value of something by using first impressions and assumptions.
From a marketing perspective, book covers are made to trump up the interest of readers, possibly lead them to read the back cover, etc… and eventually buy the book. If the book is worthwhile, then it’s consistent with the interesting cover. If not, then you begin to think of the beautiful cover as a deceit made to cover crap. Same thing with lawns, houses and other products.
First impressions last even if you present a good case to disprove it. The first thing that buyers see is the exterior of the house. They’re already conditioned to think that the home is crap if they first see a crappy lawn. Even if they see the most magnificent interior they have ever seen, it is easier for them to assume that the seller is not trustworthy, does a poor job in maintaining the home, that the interiors may only be for show and are hiding the house’s defects etc…
John Anderson@Long Fence and Home´s last blog ..lfandhome: Check out Long Fence & Home on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/companies/long-fence-and-home-lllp
Its usually the first impression is lasting. If you got a great landscape, it affects the overall appearance of the home.
I feel that landscaping is imperative for prospective home buyers. It seems that to add any value to a home now a day every added feature makes a difference. It is very expensive to have professional landscaping done, so it may be well-worth the investment to look for a home with this extra necessity.