Homeowners can get the upper hand in a crowded real estate market by giving their property an outdoor face-lift.
But if the thought of planting annuals and filling container gardens is overwhelming, basic shrub and tree pruning can make an old house look new, according to Annie Huston, co-founder of Englewood’s Columbine Design and a member of the Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado. The Denver Post caught up to Huston to find out more.
What curb appeal mistakes do homeowners often make when placing their home on the market?
Painting a home and staging it has become obvious and nearly second nature. But the tendency now is to overlook the landscaping. So much is going on inside the home, and people think they should concentrate on making the interior spick-and-span. But the outside really is where those first impressions are made. If you have allowed weeds to take over your yard, and people can see that upon walking up, they (might) wonder if the plumbing is all right. You don’t want people questioning (whether) the house is as rundown as your front yard.
How does curb appeal affect a seller’s bottom line?
Landscaping research studies show that for all the money spent on landscaping, including maintenance, that money will be recuperated at the time of sale.
What is “landscape staging?”
My company completes an assessment of what could be done for the house to have a better curb appeal. Based on before-and-after pictures, you can see that even if all you do is prune the shrubs and mow the lawn, you can update the look of that house.
Is this process expensive?
(A homeowner) could hire someone to do it for as little as $500 to $1,000. Or if they did it themselves, all it would really cost them is labor.
What changes are homebuilders making to address this problem?
As little as just a year ago, a homebuilder would simply ask us to put sod down, some irrigation and one tree just to cover the soil of a new home. Now we are getting spec homebuilders who are telling us they want water features and containers. Everyone is wanting that new home to stand out from other houses that are on sale, and they are using landscaping details to do it.
Sheba R. Wheeler: 303-954-1283 or swheeler@denverpost.com.
