Do It Yourself Home Selling Tips

Dec. 11, 2012 - PRLog -- Taking a weekend to spruce up the outside of your home before you put up your for sale sign can be fun and is well worth the extra effort. The outside is the first thing buyers see. If it looks shabby they may not even bother to come inside. Make the front yard look enticing and hospitable and people driving by will pull over and start dialing the number on your for sale sign immediately. A little bit of time and money invested can be the difference between getting legitimate offers within the first few weeks and waiting months to get an offer. A little cleaning up, some painting and planting a few eye catching shrubs, may be the deciding factor that gets you the price you are asking so you don’t have to deal with all the back and forth haggling that usually goes on between buyer and seller.

Home landscaping is more than just sticking plants into your vacant front or backyard and making it look “green”. When designing and landscaping your own home to sell, you need to think how can I make the yard look inviting and comfortable quick, easy and without spending a fortune? Creativity is the key to beautifying your front lawn or backyard. Since we are on a budget, try to incorporate any natural feature of the terrain into your overall landscaping plan. Steep grades, uneven ground, hillsides can be used to create a pleasing, unique look.  

Here are some do-it-yourself tips to landscape your lawn: First, clear off the general area that you will be designing and start from scratch. This will give you a better ‘canvass’ to work with. Then, sketch the general look that you would like to have for your garden. Consider using a theme for your front yards look such as the peaceful Zen garden look. Make a list of the plants, trees and shrubs that you can plant. When deciding on the type of plants, make sure that there will be a plant which will flower soon or bloom in the coming season. For example, perennial flowers will bloom in May, but after that it will just look like an ordinary plant. Having a plant which blooms now will give your garden a focal point even when other plant variants are not in season.

As much as possible, make a layered planting bed. At the back row which is the farthest from your house, plant the variants which grow the tallest. This will serve as the base of your landscaping. In the middle and front rows, put the shorter plants. Make sure that you apply this rule in every area of the garden where you plant to put in plants for a more ‘trimmed’ look.

You can also vary the design by using tiny hammer in garden walls and fences.  Next choose some inexpensive but nice looking outdoor furniture’ for your garden, at least one table and chair garden set, place them in an area where they can best be viewed and enjoyed. Installing a water fall is a super idea to add to the main attractions of your landscaped garden but you can make due with some cheaper lawn statues or a trellis here with a flowery vine growing on it and some large boulders as highlights. Boulders or large rocks are my favorite because they are low maintenance; no watering or weeding! Large rocks are cheap, versatile, each rock is unique looking and they have universal appeal. With some hard work and a lot of creativity, you will feel great once you look out your window and you see the landscaped lawn which you designed and built yourself.

Jazz up your walkways by planting a line of flowers on each side. Again, ask your local garden shop expert which flowers will be blooming soon and will stay flowered longest. You can also border your driveway with a row of flowers.

If you have a mailbox on a pole near the street, make sure it is in good sturdy condition and looks nice or purchase a new mail box and pole at the local hardware store, they’re very inexpensive. Use some bricks, small boulders or timber for the edging of a little garden around your mailbox. A small, cute, mailbox garden always draws a lot of attention since it is set up out by the curb. Choose a few plants that will look good all season long to enhance your mailbox garden, such as perennials, bulbs and evergreens. Mulch; wood chips or pebbles will keep the garden looking clean and attractive. Just be sure to leave access for the mailman.

Consider adding a fruit tree or a dogwood for a striking impression. Unless the tree you use is a low maintenance evergreen make sure to locate it in the middle of the lawn, far away from walkways and walk areas where falling leaves can be a hassle to keep cleaning up. Also, growing out of control and runaway roots won’t become a problem later if the tree is planted well away from the house, walkways and driveway. A bench for sitting in the shade provided by your new tree can add enjoyment giving you and your realtor a comfortable shady place to relax while you are waiting for the buyers to arrive.

A potted plant or two on the porch or on both sides of the front door will add a nice touch.

Landscaping makes for a great family project. If you don’t have the time to spruce your outside up yourself, you can always hire a few neighborhood kids. Give them detailed instructions. Buy them supplies. But, remember to check on them, young kids always need some supervision.

Putting a small investment into jazzing up your front yard truly is the first step and most important step to selling your home quickly. Landscaping the outside of your home is not difficult or very costly. Your yard is your first impression and presenting a great first impression  goes a long way. With a little time, ingenuity and just a few bucks you can add thousands of dollars to your home’s value. A beautiful home commands a higher price. For more details about fixing up your place to sell faster go to: http://findnjhouse.com