Are you considering selling? If you are, you’ll no doubt focus efforts on making the interior of your property is ready to wow potential buyers. But what about the garden? Is that singing the property’s praises or detracting from it?
#1 Give it a good tidy up
The first step before you do anything in the garden is to give it a good tidy up. It is amazing how much ‘stuff’ accumulates in the garden too, from broken plant pots to worn out children’s toys. You may find that sprucing up the garden, trimming shrubs and mowing the lawn is enough to give it a new lease of life.
#2 Focus on what the eye is drawn to
In every garden, there will be a part on which the eye naturally falls. This is the focal point and if there isn’t one, you need to consider adding one so that the eye can make sense of the garden.
But you might also want to change the focal point so that what potential buyers notice first is what you want them too! A garden building, such as studio, is the perfect example.
#3 Make sure initial impressions are good
If the focal point is away from the back door or another exit point from your home, you need to double your efforts in the initial space. The bits of the garden that people see first is like your hallway – it needs to be tidy and welcoming.
#4 Design it to fit with the house (and who will use it)
A poorly designed garden can break a sale, especially if people feel they have to do a lot of work to make it what they want to be. For example, a family home is expected to have a family-friendly garden and so a garden that needs lots of care and maintenance won’t fit the bill.
Top tip – low maintenance gardens are a big hit with most home buyers as they want a great garden but with minimal effort.
#5 Add a shed
Just like the interior of the home, the garden can suffer from the lack of useful storage. A garden shed solves all these issues in one and the great news is, it doesn’t have to be a huge garden shed. A small 8 foot by 6 foot shed is perfect for keeping the lawnmower, strimmer and other essential garden tools.
#6 Freshen up with a coat of paint
If the garden fence is looking tired and the shed is looking a little ropey, adding saleability to the garden is easily done with a coat of paint. It gives the appearance of the garden being cared for and for many buyers, this is an important signal.
#7 Suggest how the garden can be used
Again, like staging the inside of your home, suggesting to buyers how they could use the outdoor space is an important part of clinching offers.
For example, on the shady patio under the pergola, why not place an outdoor sofa so suggest an outdoor relaxing zone? Or add table and chairs to another area to suggest that this would be a great place to dine alfresco.
The garden at any property adds value but add more with these few ideas to give your outdoor space the wow factor.
