LANDSCAPING: It Goes a Long Way

Keep it Green: In the real estate world it is often said that “Curb Appeal is Everything.”  How your home looks from the street will determine how interested one might be about viewing the inside, especially for high priced homes. You want your lawn to be manicured, green, and inviting when your house goes up for sale.  If you have grass, make sure it’s fresh, bright green, and mowed.  Make sure to rake all leaves to create the feeling of a “clean property.”  Trim trees so they look well cared for.  In California, we have lots of palm trees; have green parts on the tree only and remove all brown parts.  If trees are hindering natural light from reaching the property and interior of the home, it is smart to trim those as well. However, make sure not to overdo it, especially if over trimming results in decreasing privacy from other neighbors.  

Drought Friendly: Since the beginning of the California drought, drought resistant landscaping works in Los Angeles instead of grass and flowers that need lots of water – succulents (we love agave plants) and pebbles and DG (decomposed granite) instead of grass and flowers are attractive and work well to conserve California water. Artificial turf works too. When choosing to take the drought friendly approach, be sure to factor in the runoff off for your property as well as the heat effect if you do not have shade from trees.

Plant Positioning & Layout: Often houses have shrubs or trees that make the yard feel smaller because they are planted right in the middle of the lawn or yard.  Having grass or pebble or DG or some other non-vertical ground cover extend from the house all the way to the property line (without shrubs or trees in between) has the eye drawn from property line to property line and makes prospective buyers appreciate the depth and width of the grounds.  Bigger outdoor spaces make houses sell for higher prices.  Views that are not interrupted by trees or shrubs make the space bigger and sell better.  DO strategically plant trees to block views of neighbors and to create privacy – where the trees won’t cut the space.   It’s a good idea to cover all exposed dirt in planter beds – either with dark brown tree bark (not red) or with small pebbles (grey).   Make sure to water and fertilize all the plants and shrubs so the landscaping is lush and inviting.

 

A house with manicured landscaping communicates to prospective buyers that the home is well tended and cared for.  In addition to creating a warm welcoming vibe to the space.  Homes that are manicured, in good shape, and pretty, sell for top top dollar.

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