Would you like a little more cash in your pocket? Of course. But first, you might have to clean up the dog poop...In the current see-saw real estate market, selling your house can be stressful. One way to reduce the stress and increase the odds of a sale is to make sure the landscape is in tip-top condition. Nice thought, but what if you're trying to sell your house during the middle of winter? These chilly months create unique challenges for yard presentation.
"You can transform a barren winter landscape into a lasting first impression," says Home and Garden Television’s master gardener Paul James. "You can punch things up a bit and enhance the appeal of your property. As a matter of fact, much of what you can do won't take more than a weekend and won't cost you a dime.
Start by freshening your yard. Every few days, pick up stray branches, leaves and other debris. This sprucing up shows potential buyers that you care about the condition of your yard.
Warning: Presenting your yard's best side may involve some work, say grabbing a shovel to take care of a not-so-pleasent job. “If you plan to have it available for showing, clean up after your dog, especially if the snow melts away.” admonishes Bob Brodie, of Associated Island Brokers in Kodiak, Alaska. In addition to exposing your pet's business, snowless yards also reveal trash, litter and other windblown debris.
A snowy landscape can be a blessing and a curse. "If everything is covered, it all looks swell," says Brodie. "On the other hand, snow makes it hard to do roof inspections. But if the snow is gone from say, the garden beds, it helps to cut back the perennial stalks and clean up last year’s dead leaves."
While he doesn't suggest you set plastic flowers around the yard to brighten an otherwise bleak landscape, Brodie is all for doing what it takes to solve a problem. He tells the story of his sister’s wedding in Portland, Oregon. Spring was late in coming and the bulbs hadn’t popped up and bloomed. So the concerned bride-to-be went to the store and bought fresh cut daffodils. Once home, she poked the flowers all around the garden. According to Brodie, everyone was impressed.
Other spruce-up chores include hosing off sidewalk and decks of pine needles, twigs, grass clippings and leaves -- easy to do in above-freezing weather but, "If it's icy, shovel the walks and treat them appropriately and don't just make a narrow trail to the front door," says Brodie, adding that clearing sidewalks to their full width is like rolling out the red (or white) carpet.
While you're in the outdoor cleanup spirit, prune away any dead or damaged branches. If conditions allow, sprinkle a fresh layer of mulch around the garden beds and landscaped areas. And when potential buyers come around, be sure to point out the location of dormant bulbs, perennials, shrubs and trees on your property.
Finally, since perspective buyers will no doubt go inside your house, mist indoor plants to keep the foliage looking lively, and strategically place a blooming houseplant, such as African violet, or a bouquet of fresh cut flowers on a table or counter.
Just a few extra touches around the house will reward you with a few extra bucks in your pocket.
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