The exterior is the first impression of every home. Many people will have made up their mind about your home before taking their first step inside. It is often overlooked, but staging the exterior of your home is just as important as the interior. It doesn’t matter how beautiful your interior may be, prospects will never know if they do not make it through your from door.
If you are looking to sell your home, it is time to start looking at the improvements your yard and exterior need. Spring is right around the corner, so it is best to start planning early to give yourself and your yard time to get in gear.
Whip your lawn into shape
It is almost impossible to overlook a browning or patchy lawn. As many of us may know, a dying lawn can take a lot of hard work to bring back to life. Your lawn can reflect on how the rest of your home has been maintained. Prospects are not going to start off feeling good about your home if they can already see it is in need of improvement.
The lawn will be the hardest part of the exterior to get into shape. It takes time and the proper steps in order for it to successfully come back to life. It is best to get started on it early so it is looking good by the time buying season rolls around. Here are a few quick tips on how to whip your lawn into shape this Spring.
Step #1 – Raking
Most people think raking is to pick up the dead leaves that have accumulated in your yard from the fall season. However, deep raking in the spring is just as important because it will remove excess thatch that may have built up over the winter.
Step #2 – Over-seeding
Although best done in the fall, throwing down extra seed in the spring can help fill in dead patches in your lawn. You want to apply this after the ground has thawed and freezing temperatures are no long expected.
Step #3 – Fertilizing
Fertilizing can help give your lawn the nutrients it needs to snap back to life and prevent weeds from sprouting up this Spring. IFA Country Store has a great 4-step lawn fertilizing program that can help keep your lawn healthy all year long. They also have staff members that can give you advice on when and how much of each step you need to spread. If you are local to Salt Lake or northern Utah County, we recommend stopping in and getting some advice.
Step #4 – Watering
It might be your first instinct to start watering lawn as soon as Spring rolls around. However, this is not necessarily the best for your lawn. Spring showers are often enough to bring your lawn slowly back to life without shocking it. Waiting until the weather warms up and dries out will help increase the health of your lawns roots. Waiting to water will encourage the grass to root deeper in search for water, which will help prepare it for the hot dry summer.
Lay down some bark
Dry or weed filled garden beds are a huge turn off. Keeping your garden beds tilled and clear of weeds can be a full-time job. As soon as the ground has thawed, we recommend tilling your garden beds, throwing down some weed preventative and topping them off with some fresh bark. The bark will give your yard a clean manicured edge, while also protecting the soil underneath from new weeds trying to seed. This should cut down on the yard maintenance while you are showing your home.
Give your yard some color
Nothing makes a yard pop like beautiful blooming flowers. When the weather finally warms up, head over to your local nursery and grab some fresh blooming flowers. Planting these in your garden beds will give your yard an immediate boost in color and increase your homes curb appeal.
Keep your yard clean and manicured
Here is a list of things you should be doing to keep your yard presentable.
- Mowing and edging your lawn
- Trim shrubs to keep them looking sharp
- Rake up lawn and shrub trimmings
- Keep your yard weed free
- Keep the driveway and walkway cracks weed free
- Put everything away
- Hide trash bins
- Wash windows interior and exterior
- Keep street gutters clean and clear
- Power wash driveway and walkways
- Spray down the homes exterior
- Keep rain gutters clean and clear
Fix up the flaws
You want to limit the amount of visible flaws on the exterior of your home. You do not want your home to come across as a project. Here are some easy things you can do to limit the amount of flaws your exterior has.
- Replace missing or damaged window screens
- Replace burned out light bulbs
- Fix damaged rain gutters
- Replace any missing roof shingles
- Touchup paint on trim or shutters
- Make sure mailbox and house numbers are in good shape
- If you have a fence make sure it is painted and showing no damage
- Repaint front door and polish or replace hardware
