Presenting Your Home in its Best Light

Never underestimate the importance of landscaping your property to sell.

Street appeal, and more specifically landscaping has the potential to make or break a sale & can add up to 10% or more to the achievable sale price of your property!

First impressions start at the letter box, ensure your property is presented to its maximum potential from the very first moment potential buyers set eyes on it. These first glimpses influence a buyer’s perception of not only the quality and price point of your property but in many cases whether or not they’ll even bother with an inspection.

Something as simple as a shabby letter box, lack of landscaping or quite simply an untidy yard can radically affect the sale price. Ensure your letterbox and fences are not only well maintained but that they make the right statement about your property. This is where price perception and positive or negative influences begin. The difference a well designed or landscaped entry can make to an otherwise ordinary home can have a radical effect on a property's perceived price point.

Simple, inexpensive landscaping tips for home sellers

Add some colour to the exterior of your home by planting a garden. Seasonal flowers or colourful foliage plants make a huge difference to the ‘Street Appeal’ of any property.

Cottage gardens with flowering shrubs & long blooming perennials are great for country style homes. Whilst desert type plants finished with pebbles or river rocks as an alternative to organic mulch is an excellent way to finish a Mediterranean style property. Colour doesn’t necessarily have to come from flowers & a garden rich in colour created by foliage plants tends to suit more contemporary homes. Your local garden centre is the best place to go for advice on the types of plants that will suit the positioning & soil type in your area. Create harmony & flow by deciding on a theme or colour scheme & using repetitive patterns & groupings of plants. Triangular groupings work particularly well & always in odd numbers as opposed to even with regards to how many plants in each grouping. Remember colour has the ability to affect your mood so if it’s a relaxing area of the garden use softer cool colours such as blue, lavender & pink. Yellow is a happy colour, (excellent for welcoming visitors to a home) & reds & oranges are perfect for tropical gardens & in areas generally used for family fun & high activity .

For existing gardens weed, trim & edge the garden and then apply a layer of mulch to finish off. Mulch can hide a multitude of sins particularly if the site hasn’t been particularly well prepared or the ground is a little uneven. Bark, Lucerne & river rocks are all excellent ways to finish any garden. A simple inexpensive way to edge a garden is to use a shovel or similar garden tool to create/cut a defined edge between the garden & the lawn. Alternatively for a more manicured finish, have the garden professionally edged using concrete, rock or timber, especially important for properties expected to reach higher price points. Mow the lawn; pressure clean paths and the outside of the house. Don’t leave belongings or children’s toys lying around, store them neatly out of sight or put into storage.

If your home needs some attention, consider the ramifications if your property doesn’t sell. Consider allocating a budget and investing some money in your greatest asset.

Don’t leave the sale of your greatest asset to chance!

Landscaping your property to sell, how to get started...

Take a walk outside and stand right about where your potential buyer will first set eyes on your property. This is the area most often forgotten when it should in fact be the most important consideration of all.

So what do your buyers see in those first crucial moments of driving up to your property? Remember - to get inside your buyer’s mind, you must be critical!

*Take advantage of our FREE Property Presentation TIPS & ACTION PLAN to ensure you’re on track and that you don’t miss anything crucial.

To give you an idea of just how important street appeal is to price perception, take a look at the difference it makes to this property.

First look at the before photo and consider how much you think the property is worth - then the after photo to decide how much difference you think presentation makes when in comes to selling a property.

Except for renovators & bargain hunters most people either have trouble imagining how a property could look or they simply don't have the time,energy or resources to spend on a huge project once they move in. They want to live the dream, but it's so much more attractive to them to buy a property where the work has all been done.

Remember, a landscaped garden can add 10% or more to the perceived value of a property. Whilst this after shot is of an established garden, it only takes a little effort to weed & tidy, add some plants, mulch & edging to create invaluable impact to the appeal of any property. ...And it doesn't have to cost a fortune, there are simple inexpensive solutions to landscaping any garden, without having to break the bank.

When we talk about Street Appeal, consideration of the path to & through your front door is essential as it has the capacity to either welcome buyers in, or turn them away. Just clearing the path of clutter, adding a new mat & if space allows an attractive pot or plant. Just be sure that whatever you create doesn't block the entry, keep it simple but welcoming. It's important to remember, these first impressions create definite perceptions in the buyer's mind as to the quality of the home, how well it's been maintained & what the sale price will be.

Simple ideas that don't have to cost the earth...

If you'd like to know more just click on the link below and request a FREE checklist. Before you go, you might be interested to know what one of our valued clients had to say about Property Presenters Sunshine Coast.

"For almost ten years I struggled to establish the entry and gardens to our acreage property. After several failed attempts I asked Kerie to help solve the tricky problem of a very steep entry with no water supply for plants or a garden. Kerie was just amazing, she planned the entry and garden with me then helped me to buy suitable plants and material. She has an outstanding knowledge of plants and materials so she knows what will work and what will not. Six months after the work was completed the entry and garden to our property is flourishing and now the first impression of our home is just awesome. Kerie has the X-factor of being able weave her magic into any home with minimal expense and fuss to make a difference that adds value in so many ways to your property. Not only that I had so much fun with her and she taught me how to make simple but effective changes. Kerie still takes an interest in our project and checks on the progress of the plants and we have added a few small but impressive touches in that time. I would recommend Kerie to anyone who needs simple and effective solutions to improve their property for whatever reason."

Kerry Brown
Palmwoods

Contact us today to find out how to spruce up your best asset.

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