They say that good fences make good neighbors, but everyone who’s ever owned a home knows that there’s more to it than just that. Being a good neighbor, like being a good friend, means being considerate and sociable, but it also means refraining from decisions that will be unpopular with the people you live near — or rather the people who will leave near your home buyers. Landscaping to sell your home should still follow the principles of being a good neighbor, because what's good for the neighborhood is also what usually appeals to homebuyers!
When I was a teenager, my best friend lived next door to a house that was painted neon pink, and it always drew comments from visitors. When the neighbors saw them erecting scaffolding and opening cans of new paint, they were elated… until they saw the equally-vivid purple shade that they had selected! There are seemingly low-key landscaping choices you can make that are the equivalent of painting your house bright pink, and they should be undertaken at your own peril. Making neighbors mad is usually not a desirable thing to do whether you live in a home, or if you're preparing to sell your home, so it’s important to think through your landscaping choices beforehand!
1) Replacing Grass With Rocks
Especially in areas with high levels of drought, turning your front yard into a gravelscape might seem like a good idea. No grass for your homebuyers to cut or water and, if you manage things right, no weeds to pull while your house is on the market. It’s the ultimate in low-maintenance landscaping. Unfortunately, some people HATE this look. Not only aesthetics are at stake, however. In warm climates, a rock yard amplifies heat, making your own home and neighboring houses uncomfortable. And should your neighborhood ever flood, rocks don’t absorb water like grass. When landscaping to sell your home, avoid a look that screams out such a specific aesthetic and go for something more "tried and true" and guaranteed to appeal to more home buyers.
2) Getting Rid of Trees
Look, we get that trees can be a pain. They drop leaves all over the yard that then need to be raked and bagged, and they produce pollen in the spring, which can be a real bummer if you have allergies. But if you have a big, mature tree in your yard and decide to cut it down, you may just loose a huge appeal for many home buyers — plus, your neighbors might revolt. Mature trees contribute to the shadiness and look of a street, and they increase property values. People grow attached to them, even if they aren’t in their own yards. The loss of a tree can feel like a personal insult to your neighbors, and if other homes on your street have big, beautiful shady tress, then your home will stand out as the anomaly (and not in a good way!). When selling a home, landscaping should be inviting and homey for your future home buyers, and there's just something about those big trees that invite a home buyer to hang a tire swing or imagine summer picnics in the shade. Keep the tree and simply handle the maintenance — it's worth it!
3) Neglecting Your Yard
While some people love meticulously organizing and tending their gardens, other homeowners can’t be bothered. If you decide to take a laissez-faire approach and let your yard run wild, expect your neighbors to complain and the curb appeal of your home to shoot down into the gutter. It's not a secret that home buyers want a move-in ready home, and home sellers would be good to take to heart the idea that first impressions matter, and your landscaping is the first thing a buyers see when they arrive at your home!
A neglected, messy yard with long grass and unkempt shrubbery not only looks terrible, but can attract snakes, rats, and other vermin. If someone is looking to buy in the neighborhood, one sloppy-looking yard can bring down property values. So be a good neighbor and do the bare minimum to keep your yard looking good.
4.) Planting Toxic Shrubs
If your neighbors have plants, you should be careful about the shrubbery you plant in your yard. Oleander is an example of a plant that looks pretty, but can poison dogs and cats if they ingest even a few leaves. It’s important to keep in mind that, while you may be king of your castle, the things you do in your yard can have an impact on your neighbors. Remember the Golden Rule, and try to make neighborly decisions that you wouldn’t mind having done next to you. A home buyer with small children may even pass over your home if they see oleander in the yard since they know they will automatically need to remove this landscaping choice before even moving into the home.
When landscaping to sell your Northern Virginia home, you have to think about more than your personal preferences and instead consider what is good for the neighborhood, and what will work for a multitude of types of home buyers. You don't know yet who will buy your house — it could be a family with young kids, an elderly couple not keen to maintain an extensive garden, or a busy couple with high-powered jobs. Choose landscaping choices that match the widest range of tried-and-true aesthetic choices and let your future home-owner decide on any of the wackier choices they might want.
