First impressions matter—and when you’re selling your house, there’s nothing quite like the vision of a manicured yard to really wow potential buyers. Like staging the inside of your home, staging your yard takes time, effort and a little bit of money. But your hard work is sure to impress, and the payoff can be a fast offer. Here, Realtor.com offer up some of the best projects you can do to stage your yard and prepare for an open house.
Clean up the lawn and landscaping
The lawn is one of the first things potential buyers are going to look at, so it’s critical to cut it and keep it neat every time you’re about to show your home.
In addition to your lawn, be sure to weed and water your flower gardens, prune the shrubs, trim the hedges and sweep away dead leaves. You also should clean the front stoop by removing cracked planters and pots with dead blooms. If your porch, driveway or the pathway leading to your house is coated with dirt and stains, you can get rid of it with a few hours of power washing. Most power washers can be rented from your local hardware store for about $60 per day.
Clear the clutter
Make sure the outside of your home looks as tidy as possible. Clear old newspapers from the front stoop, and pick up any litter you see around the yard. Don’t forget to stash away any kids’ toys littering the lawn, and always park your cars in the garage. You want to highlight your home—not your random belongings.
Add some color
Head to your local gardening center, and pick out some pretty annuals to plant in window boxes, in your garden or along the edge of the driveway. If you don’t have much space for planting, install a few hooks on the eave and hang some plants. To hide the dirt around the fresh new blooms you planted, lay down some mulch. Dark brown bark chips give your yard an inexpensive boost; so spread it in flower beds and wherever else dirt and weeds are exposed.
Consider kids
While you don’t want an explosion of toys in the yard, you still can stage your lawn to look attractive to buyers with children. Kids can be very persuasive when it comes to a sale, so make the yard enticing. If you already have a swing set, clean it up, and fill an empty space in your backyard with a Ping-Pong table or Cornhole boards. Organize a neat row of parked tricycles and bikes.
Arrange an area for backyard entertaining
Show off your deck or patio by setting up an inviting outdoor furniture area. Create a focal point near the grill or under a tree with a picnic table, chairs and an all-weather umbrella. You even could set the table with a cloth runner and attractive lanterns. And don’t forget accessories—decorative pillows on outdoor furniture add a pop of color and create a festive atmosphere.