Garden Projects That Will Increase Kerb Appeal & Help Sell Your Home

First impressions count – and when you’re selling your house, there’s nothing quite like the vision of a manicured front garden to really wow potential buyers. Just like the inside of your home, getting your garden ready takes time, effort, and a little bit of money. However, your hard work is sure to impress, and the payoff can be a fast offer!

Some refer to it as “kerb appeal” – how attractive a property looks as you drive up or view it from the kerb.  Increasing the kerb appeal of your property will help get those buyers through the door.

Here are some of the best projects you can do to improve those first impression and get ready for an open house and viewers.

Spruce up the front lawn and driveway

Imagine you’re the one attending a house viewing and you see an overgrown lawn that’s covered with weeds – not exactly appealing is it? If you have a lawn, it’s one of the first things potential buyers are going to look at, so it’s really important to cut it and keep it neat whenever you’re about to show your home.

I also recommend weeding and watering your flowers, pruning the shrubs, trimming the hedges, and sweeping away any dead leaves. You should also clean up the front porch and entrance by removing any cracked plant pots and boxes. Remove dead plants or dead head flowers.

Ensure visitors can walk into your property without having to duck or push past plants overhanging the path/drive. Trim and prune them back!

If your porch, driveway, or the path leading up to your house is covered with dirt and stains, you should clean it with a power washer. A couple of hours of power washing will make the world of difference. If you don’t have a power washer, you can hire them from your local plant hire store for about £30 per day. If you’re in or around Herne Bay, try Herne Bay Plant Hire.

Clear the crap!

You need to ensure the outside of your home looks as tidy as possible. Clear away any old leaflets from the front entrance, and pick up any litter you see around the front garden.  And definitely remove any old furniture or mattresses from the front!

Make sure you put away all the kids’ toys and if you have a garage, park your car in there.  If you don’t have a garage or don’t have room  in there because of all the stuff you have stored, then park the car out on the street a distance away. You want to highlight the space you have. Making visitors squeeze down the side of a car won’t give the impression of space.

If at all possible, hide the wheelie bins.  At the very least, ensure they don’t smell, look clean and are lined up nicely.

Add some colour

Visit your local garden centre, and buy up 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, put up hanging baskets or even add a few plant pot hooks on drain pipes and hang some plants.  Something like these from Amazon work well.

You don’t need to overboard, but just add some colour.

Mulch or bark chips can help give a front garden a boost and make colourful plants “pop”. You can spread it on flower beds and wherever else soil and small weeds are exposed. Bark chippings from Amazon.  Be careful that it doesn’t get kicked across paths and driveway and ruin the “tidy look”!

Think of the kids

Whilst you don’t want an explosion of toys and other kiddie clutter in the garden, you should still make your garden look attractive to buyers with children. Children can be very persuasive when it comes to a sale, so make the garden enticing. A decent garden can get potential buyers with children excited about living in your home.

If you already have a swing, clean it up, or give it a lick of paint. If you do have kids toys in the back garden, ensure they are tidied into one area. Make it look organised by parking tricycles and bikes in a neat row.

Set up an area for entertaining

When showing your house you want to give potential buyers (or tenants) an idea of the lifestyle they could enjoy.  Show off your decking area or patio by setting up an inviting outdoor furniture area. Create a focal point near the barbecue or under a tree with a garden table, chairs, and an umbrella. If you want to go down the full staging route, you could even set the table with a cloth runner and attractive lanterns.

Accessorise! Add attractive pillows on outdoor furniture to add that touch of colour and warmth.

Outside Buildings or Sheds

It’s important that any outside buildings or sheds are given some love. Either paint or stain them to give them a quick makeover and a new lease of life.

I hope these tips will help you increase the kerb appeal of your property.  Remember, spending a bit of time and money on improving your garden will increase the likelihood of a quick sale.