This is part three in a five part series on prepping a real estate property for listing. In this post, I’ll be covering the importance of landscaping your listing. If the goal is to make the most profit off the sale, these blog posts will highlight the major steps you must take before the home becomes available for showings. Even if you just want a quick sale without much effort, some of these tips will be very useful to make sure you still earn top dollar for your effort. The various topics covered will be decluttering, upgrading, repairing, landscaping, cleaning, staging, maintaining and finally what to do on the day of the photoshoot.

Being a realtor in Jacksonville Florida has its many perks. One of them, is the ability to sell listings around the year. We’re not hampered by snow and ice like many parts of the country. The added benefit of having nice weather all year, is the ability to spruce up a real estate listing with quality landscaping! When selling a home, you want to make a great first impression. Landscaping is just as vital as the visual appeal of the home itself when it comes to making a first impression.

Often times I’ll photograph a real estate listing and the seller hasn’t performed basic landscaping. The most common areas of need are grass and flower beds. Lawns need to be recently mowed and dead grass replaced. The good news is sod can be put down all year in Florida! When I built my first home, the lawn was put down in November and did great once spring arrived. If the lawn needs a little green-up, make sure to fertilize it at least a week before the shoot. Yes, sod can be put down all year, but fertilizers cannot. Please make sure you apply the appropriate fertilizer for your type of lawn at the right time of year.

The other area lacking when I shoot homes are the flower beds. Sometimes sellers want to overcomplicate these areas. They don’t always need to be complicated. They just need to be cleaned up, weed free and have fresh much, rocks, or another form of ground cover. The bushes need to be trimmed and dead flowers cut off. If bushes are dead, they should be removed. Often times, older homes won’t have any landscaping in Northeast Florida. A few simple bushes and a little bit of mulch can go a very long way to improve the curb appeal of the home you’re selling. If it’s possible, plant flowers whose color compliment the color of the home! This could also be a good time to add solar powered landscape lighting. This can also add great appeal to a real estate property when the sun starts going down. Yes, even on simple small homes. If a twilight shoot is planned, this can greatly improve the look of the home.

Making sure leaves and other debris are blown off the roof and sidewalk is another area people often ignore. This is understandable as most people work and aren’t able to blow off the driveway just before the shoot. If it’s reasonable to do, try and have the driveway blown off prior to the shoot. Perhaps a neighbor would be willing to do it for you? Other than loose debris, pressure washing the driveway could fall under landscaping. A clean and bright driveway looks significantly better and doesn’t cost very much to have done. A good pressure washing company will be able to remove grease and tannin stains as well.

The last tip in the landscaping department is to not forget the backyard! Often times, sellers will spruce up their front yard and leave the backyard untouched. If you have a very strict budget, this is understandable. But if you’re looking to make the most money possible on your listing, the same principles above should apply. At a minimum, make sure the backyard is clean and organized. Often times I’ll shoot homes and the seller hasn’t done anything at all to the backyard.

Just remember at the end of the day it’s about making the property look as good as possible when it’s time for the photographer to arrive. You’ll want the photos, video, and 3D virtual tour to look as good as possible in hopes it will entice someone to see the property in person.