Let’s admit it, when getting ready to put a home on sale, the fear that it might not sell fast or rake in the amount you expect will often creep up on you. Things get even more real when you begin to imagine what the home inspector report might look like and what buyers will think of it. On the other hand, there’s the good feeling that comes with knowing that there are a few things you can do to attract potential home buyers to your property. Even better than that is the fact that low-cost home improvements exist that you could complete that could perfectly seduce a potential buyer.
Granted, a large-scale remodeling project will certainly raise the value of your home, and buyers will definitely be lured to it, but the process will also break the bank, not to mention that payback isn’t guaranteed. On top of that, prospective buyers might not like your version of remodeling because tastes do differ. Yet the low-cost home improvements are pretty simple. Some you can even carry out on your own and when they are taken collectively, chances are high they could expedite the sale of your property and bring you a reasonable profit from it.
For example, great landscaping can be create an impressive first impression. Based on a survey done by the National Association of Realtors in 2013, 71% of home buyers consider curb appeal when shopping for a home. So, unless your house is a fixer-upper, you owe serious buyers an inviting home.
Once they begin to tour your property, your landscaping should evoke excitement. Thankfully, there are quick and inexpensive curb appeal projects you can do to achieve that.
Examples include:
- Adding color with annuals, seasonal flowering shrubs, or perennials
- Removing weeds from your yard, watering it, applying fertilizer, and aerating it. This will also help in getting the yard as green as possible
- Mowing the lawn on a regular basis
- Planting a few deciduous trees such as the tulip tree, dogwood, and red oak (roughly 15 feet tall)
- Edge and mulch the lawn to create a neat and attractive appearance
For a couple of hundred dollars, you can enlist the help of a landscaper to plant some flowering annuals, in addition to carrying out a full yard cleanup.
Many would, of course, want to know about the return on investment from such a landscaping project. Well, a quick web search puts the numbers between 100% and 1000%. More important to note is that the results tend to be impressive when you develop a landscape plan that compliments the architectural design of your home.
Even though you have a chance to do an extensive landscape, bear in mind that some buyers can treat that as a negative factor due to the high maintenance cost it attracts. This is especially the case for millennial home buyers. Low maintenance costs are one of the top things millennial home buyers are looking for in a home!
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