If you have been planning to offer your property for sale or let, spending a bit of time in the garden can be time well spent, particularly if your garden has been unkempt and looks more like a jungle than a show piece. But you don’t need to be a card carrying member of the Royal Horticultural Society to make good first impression at a viewing.
Here are five tips to make sure your garden doesn’t resemble a tip:
1. Tidy up – A simple tidy up is often what is needed. Try and look at your garden with fresh eyes. We get so used to seeing things that we often don’t register them anymore. Try taking a photo of the garden and look at it objectively. Would that garden impress you if you saw it as part of a property listing online? Sometimes all it takes is a bit of a tidy to get a garden looking better. Do the weeding, trim the edges of the lawn, hide the rubbish bins (here are several suggestions to help you hide your rubbish bins) and store the children’s outdoor toys.
2. Take care of your lawn – If you have a lawned area in your garden, it pays to make sure that the grass is green and lush. Lawn maintenance is fairly easy, but you just need to be aware of it to get your grass in tip top condition. Click the link to read this article to find out how to make sure your lawn forms a lasting impression on prospective buyers and tenants
3. Add some colour – A hint of colour can really enliven photos and impress people at a viewing. You could plant some bright annuals in pots or hanging baskets (particularly nice near the front door in a front garden) for a quick spot of low maintenance colour. If however, you are a landlord and will be looking to create a lasting impression, planting hardy perennials like Vibernum, Ceanothus and Escallonia that take care of themselves might be the answer.
4. Look at how you can create interest vertically as well as horizontally – when we think of gardening we tend to focus on the ground, but you can use vertical elements like trellising or fences to create a more private space and boost your bloom count. Other options that up the vertical interest in a garden include pergolas, willow obelisks or gazebos which will also provide planting opportunities for climbing plants. If you are planning on listing a property for sale in winter try, planting evergreens such as ivy and intersperse it with flowering species such as jasmine, clematis or honeysuckle.
5. Show viewers that the garden can be an outside room – a great many people find it difficult to picture how a space can look when on a viewing, so if you set up your garden to demonstrate that it can be treated as an outside room, most people who view will be better able to picture themselves enjoying the outdoor space. Set up any outdoor furniture for viewings (and make sure the furniture is clean). Just as you might give your interior rooms a lick of fresh paint before you sell or let your property, give your outdoor walls or fences the same refreshing treatment. People will then see the garden as a lifestyle asset.
The Bottom Line: Gardens do add value to a property. By making sure that the garden looks inviting rather than an overgrown mess that the new owner or tenant will have to face tackling when they take on the property will go some way toward making sure that your property gets sold or let quickly.
If you need help or ideas for your garden contact the best of recommended businesses.
If you need an objective eye to take a look at your garden or property or for other tips to help you get your property sold or let quickly, contact Northfields Estates on 0208 840 6666 or request your free, no obligation valuation online here.
