If you are ready to move then spending time gardening is likely to be the last thing on your mind. It’s an even tougher job than normal as gardens have flourished thanks to the recent mix of hot and wet weather.
Yet, as with your cleaning and decluttering efforts inside, your outside space also needs some attention to ensure it doesn’t let your property down when trying to sell. Otherwise, it could send the wrong message to potential buyers before they’ve even had a chance to consider inside.
An overgrown lawn signals neglect
An overgrown lawn instantly suggests a property that hasn’t been cared for. After all, if the garden resembles a meadow, it’s clearly not been used and potential buyers may question why.
It may sound excessive, but mowing the lawn before your viewings – and certainly for the marketing photographs – is one of the quickest ways to neaten up your garden and could take your buyers’ attention away from the weeding that might still need doing.
Tired, broken fencing could be a security risk
Security will be a concern for potential buyers. Broken, tired fencing or gates will put buyers off, could potentially be an easy access route for burglars and may also be an escape risk for animals and small humans. Take the time to repair or replace anything that broken or, if just tired, give a new lease of life with fence paint.
Broken garden clutter looks messy
Whether it’s a broken outdoor chair, a rusty BBQ or a mouldy paddling pool that you never quite got to around to putting away, leaving garden clutter on view is another no-no. If such items are waiting for a trip to the tip, it’s time to stop putting off the inevitable and get rid of the clutter.
If there is still life in the products, then give them a clean and store them properly. Alternatively use them to stage your garden, suggesting the outdoor summer parties that buyers could have or the poolside fun their children might enjoy.
Blandness is boring
If your garden lacks character, it’s not going to be memorable to a potential buyer. So, if you’ve never managed to landscape your newbuild garden, or your space is blooming with greenery but lacks colour for impact, then take a trip to the garden centre and get planting. Cheap bedding plants will bring instant colour, but if you don’t want to shell out for something that’s not moving with you, consider potted plants and hanging baskets that can.
Intrusive weeds could devalue
Most intrusive weeds will just be annoying or unsightly. Some can threaten other plants in your garden. Brambles, for example, are also literally a pain to move and can smother plants and borders, as can bindweed.
But other invasive weeds can have more devastating consequences. Japanese knotweed, for example, blights 7% of UK homes, according to research published earlier this year. That’s more than 1.58 million properties. It can cut around 5% off a property’s value, equivalent to £13,500, and some mortgage lenders won’t fund properties that have it because of the challenges and conditions around getting rid of it. Sellers must also declare its presence.
Hopefully we’ve convinced you that it’s time to put on those gardening gloves and get to work. It could be the feature that wins your sale.
Proctors is an independent network of individual estate agent businesses with branches in Beckenham, Bromley, Park Langley, Petts Wood, Shirley and West Wickham. We’ve been buying, selling and letting in these areas since 1946. Get in touch to find out how we can help you with your property requirements.