Just about every homeowner wants to improve their home so that it shows its best to the world.  Well, maybe not everyone, but most normal people do.  I was in an unnamed North County city while out on Broker’s tour and I happened to drive down a street that looked like no one took any pride in ownership of their homes.  And, I mean NO ONE!  It looked like a slum but a slum with homes worth $600,000 to $700,000 if these houses were in good shape.  It got me to thinking about what must go into someones mind when they just stop taking care of their property.  The front landscaping turns to weeds, trees and shrubs die and the place looks, well it looks like a slum. I just don’t get why people have no pride of ownership when a house is the single most expensive investment anyone is likely to make in their lifetime.

So what are the five easiest ROI in landscaping your home?

1.  Lawn.

This is the first, and easiest, ROI in landscaping your house.  If it’s dead, pull it out, and either seed or roll out a carpet of sod (instant gratification, believe me).  The investment on this can be as little as a weekend of labor in rototilling the dead lawn, adding top soil, leveling it smooth and spreading seed.  Then water daily and watch it sprout.  Or, if you want to spend a little more money, rototilling, adding top soil, leveling it smooth and rolling out the sod.  Late Fall is a great time to do this because Mother Nature will do the watering for you.

2.  Trees and Shrubs.

Having too many on a lot is as bad as not having any at all.  We all like to see a couple of trees, especially the shade variety if one has a western exposure.  If you have a lot with too many trees planted too close together, get one or more of them out.  That is easier said than done, believe me, since I have had a yard like that in my lifetime.  I often wonder what the people were thinking planting 3 trees within four feet of each other.  They weren’t thinking, and probably knew they weren’t going to be living there when the trees matured and were entangled into each other!  Here’s how to remove the dead trees and shrubs on your own and save money.  If it’s a big tree, many cities in our County have heritage tree ordinances and you must get permission to remove trees, even dead ones.  They often require that you plant a new tree in place of the old one, but you may chose where to plant it on your lot.  Double check with City Hall before removing those trees, just to be safe.

3.  Flowers.

We all like to see color in a garden and flowers marching along side a entry walkway are welcoming.  Take an afternoon and plant some.  Don’t plant them too close to each other, and allow for space to grow.  Plant bulbs in the winter so you have spring flowers.  Plant fall flowers for color into winter. We are very lucky to have a climate that gives us 12 months of flowers and plants, so talk to the nursery about what’s flowering each season and plant a little of each for year round color.

4.  Bark.

When you see a home that has been staged go on the market, inevitability the yard has fresh bark (or mulch) spread in the garden.  This inhibits weeds, covers blank spots by filling in the earth between plants, and just finishes off the look.  it’s a true do-it-yourself project and takes only a little bit of time to spread the mulch around your garden.  Voliá!

5.  Fencing.

If your fence is falling down by all means fix it.  If you are going to ask a lot of money for your home, the least you can do is fix the fence.  If you have neighbors surrounding your property you can ask them to split the cost as it’s a benefit to them as much as one to you. If they don’t want to do that, bite the bullet and fix it yourself.  You’ll be happy that you did, and  it will enhance your property values.

That’s it.  The top five things you can do to enhance your home and see an ROI on the investment of money and time.  Take a look at this house now.  It has curb appeal and makes someone want to go inside to see the rest of the house.  No one wants to see a dump, unless it is a fire sale, and even then many won’t go inside to look because they make an assumption that the inside looks as bad as the outside.  Keep that in mind when you’re doing your yard work.  There really is a pay back when you have a nice looking yard.

Getting back to my drive down the North County street.  There was one house there that stood out from the rest so I lied about there not being any nice homes there.  It was painted.  It was inviting.  It had neat landscaping.  And, it was For Sale.  But, I did not stop to look at it because of the neighboring houses.  I could not show a client the best house a the block of slum houses.  I can’t do it.  And now you know why.

Check Out Some Homes Currently For Sale In This Area

612 GREENWICH Ln , Foster City, CA, 94404-3617

299 PORT ROYAL Av , Foster City, CA, 94404-3512

780 CATAMARAN St , Foster City, CA, 94404-3102

788 CORONADO Ln , Foster City, CA, 94404-2925

1330 MARLIN Av , Foster City, CA, 94404-1422

850 GULL Av , Foster City, CA, 94404-1428

321 CUTTER St , Foster City, CA, 94404-3201

251 LOON Ct , Foster City, CA, 94404-1410

291 CURLEW Ct , Foster City, CA, 94404-1314

1134 POLYNESIA Dr , Foster City, CA, 94404-1750

919 GULL Av , Foster City, CA, 94404-1429

52 WILLIAMS Ln , Foster City, CA, 94404-3966

150 FLYING CLOUD Is , Foster City, CA, 94404-1357

808 GULL Av , Foster City, CA, 94404-1428

1372 MARLIN Av , Foster City, CA, 94404-1422