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We have a property we own in a great location with an ugly lot. Nothing has been done to it in years. Grass is terrible. Lot is very small and property in a warm (not quite hot) urban market. As a rental, tenants just threw some furniture out there. One planted a rose bush years ago and that is literally the only nice thing in the yard. We are putting it on the market when the tenants lease is up in September.
We need to re-grade because we are having some drainage issues and are wondering how much value (if any) there would be in making this more attractive before selling the property. We have a landscaper who is trying to upsell us on putting in a patio, seating wall, plantings etc. citing that other houses on the street have nice back yards (some do, some don't.) He has a plan which we consider to be sort of over the top for what we want, but we might spend the extra to put in some of it.
The rest of the house is in great shape and will present nicely. How much will the lot add if we do it up? Anything? Or should we leave it as a blank slate for the next owner? Conversely, have you ever been turned off by a lack of landscaping or hardscaping so much so that you passed on the house?
Adding landscaping and curb appeal might not make the house worth _____ more... but it does make people decide if they want to see the house at all. It will change how the house presents in pictures, and in person when you drive up.
I wouldn't spend the over-the-top amount just for resale, but improving the lawn and adding some flower beds and an outdoor seating area that is nice will help the place sell, imho.
Last edited by Diana Holbrook; 07-07-2018 at 08:44 AM..
There's no way to assess a specific value added, but I equate it to selling a house with a "dated" interior. Bad landscaping, or what sounds like a plain ol' derelict yard here, discounts the value. It affects the buyer's perception of the property.
You don't want them to drive up and begin tallying all the work they would need to do to bring it up to par. You want them to say, "Ok, I can work with this ..."
There's no need to go whole hog and add hardscaping etc, as your landscaper suggests, but clean up and basic sprucing up would add to the curb appeal, which will draw buyers in rather than chase them off.
There's no way to assess a specific value added, but I equate it to selling a house with a "dated" interior. Bad landscaping, or what sounds like a plain ol' derelict yard here, discounts the value. It affects the buyer's perception of the property.
You don't want them to drive up and begin tallying all the work they would need to do to bring it up to par. You want them to say, "Ok, I can work with this ..."
There's no need to go whole hog and add hardscaping etc, as your landscaper suggests, but clean up and basic sprucing up would add to the curb appeal, which will draw buyers in rather than chase them off.
I wouldn't say its a derelict yard. Just not a great one. Its grass. And a wall. And a privacy fence. But that is it. Its not something you see when you drive up to the house as its the back yard. We do plan to spruce up the front of the house. Not sure there is a huge value add to the back or not.
In my area people either want "low to no maintenance" yards or the opportunity to put them in. They also want low maintenance decks made with composite (plastic wood), so if your market is like mine, just clean
things up and let the buyers imagine what they want to do.
By clean up, I mean rake up any and all debris, make sure the grading is done neatly, and replant any grass that was disturbed.
I vote it matters more than anyone can prove. Personally, that was a deciding factor for me going in. If the yard appeared neglected, what about what you couldn't see was neglected?
It's easy to drive through any neighborhood and see which yards belong to people who believe simple yard maintenance (watering, fertilizing, mowing, trimming, weeding) is an onerous, too difficult task. This is particularly true when such houses are listed for sale, since that's the time when most sellers put their best foot forward. Buyers considering such houses, will typically discount the price in their minds (IMO, 10+ percent), concluding the owners are also too lazy (or cheap) too conduct simple maintenance and upkeep of the house itself.
Full-up "landscaping" is another matter. Sometimes, too much landscaping can cause a potential buyer to question whether they want to take-on that much extra upkeep.
Based on the OP's description of the yard, the seller will easily pay for the cost of re-sodding and cleaning-up the yard ... one way or another. If the adjacent yards have nice patios with some landscaping, it will probably also be worthwhile to lay-down some pavers (not that difficult or expensive) and perhaps a roll-out awning or add a couple of large patio umbrellas.
In my area people either want "low to no maintenance" yards or the opportunity to put them in. They also want low maintenance decks made with composite (plastic wood), so if your market is like mine, just clean
things up and let the buyers imagine what they want to do.
By clean up, I mean rake up any and all debris, make sure the grading is done neatly, and replant any grass that was disturbed.
This is what is being suggested. Big patio instead of grass. Beds with low maintenance plantings. Its a pretty common urban yard look in the area.
We have a property we own in a great location with an ugly lot. Nothing has been done to it in years. Grass is terrible. Lot is very small and property in a warm (not quite hot) urban market. As a rental, tenants just threw some furniture out there. One planted a rose bush years ago and that is literally the only nice thing in the yard. We are putting it on the market when the tenants lease is up in September.
We need to re-grade because we are having some drainage issues and are wondering how much value (if any) there would be in making this more attractive before selling the property. We have a landscaper who is trying to upsell us on putting in a patio, seating wall, plantings etc. citing that other houses on the street have nice back yards (some do, some don't.) He has a plan which we consider to be sort of over the top for what we want, but we might spend the extra to put in some of it.
The rest of the house is in great shape and will present nicely. How much will the lot add if we do it up? Anything? Or should we leave it as a blank slate for the next owner? Conversely, have you ever been turned off by a lack of landscaping or hardscaping so much so that you passed on the house?
I wouldn't go over the top with landscaping but I would make sure you had grass put in and any areas where plants would go wood chipped. You need not even buy the plants but just make it neat and weed free. A lawn that looks unkempt will make buyers think the house also is/was unkempt and not well cared for. While it may not add value to do this, it will certainly take away value not to.
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