“When I’m working on a problem, I never think about beauty. But when I’ve finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it’s wrong.”
– R. Buckminster Fuller.
Increase your curb appeal and increase your home’s value. Most homeowners know this. But when they think about it, they picture putting on new siding, adding on a sunporch, or even a room. They often don’t realize that their landscaping decisions can affect how future buyers evaluate whether or not they want to purchase their property.
J&S Landscaping likes helping people improve their home’s curb appeal. To that end, today we want to walk around the outside of your house and talk about landscaping projects that will help improve your property’s standing in the market.
When you pull into your driveway at the end of a long work day, your first feeling is probably one of relief. This is your safe space, the place where you keep all your stuff, and spend time with the people who are the most important to you. You might pause and smile at flowers growing out front or admire how your new curtains frame your window. But chances are, you probably will not pause and think about curb appeal. Understandably, you probably just want to go inside and relax.
However, the next time you park your car in that driveway, take that pause and use it to see your home from a stranger’s point of view. Ask yourself, what would a stranger’s first impression of your house be? Would they be in love with it before they walked through the front door? Or would they see a mundane, cookie-cutter exterior?
You’re probably not going to live in your home forever. So, when you add something to the structure of the house or the surrounding landscape, keep in mind that you are affecting the house’s future should you ever put it on the market.
Let’s get out of the car and talk about walkways, one of the first of the landscaping projects that will increase your home’s value.
Upgrade Your Walkways
The walkway that leads to your front door sees a lot of foot traffic. And over time, it can become worn, chipped, cracked, even hazardous. Does yours look like this? Or if you have an older house, maybe it’s not so much worn as it is outdated. The old-fashioned, plain-Jane gray concrete sidewalks were more functional than attractive.
J&S Landscaping is a certified contractor for Belgard Hardscapes. Belgard offers lifetime guarantees on all their pavers, which means if a paver cracks, they will replace it at no cost to the customer. And they come in a wide variety of colors, shapes, and sizes. All are sure to make visitors and buyers’ eyes pop. This landscaping project will increase the value of your home at least 30%. If you upgrade the driveway to match, your return can be even larger.
Update Your Outdoor Living Space
Let’s grab something cool to drink and take a tour of your backyard. Do you have an outdoor living space? Or does your old patio look a bit like your front walk? If you have one, chances are, they’re made of the same material and were probably installed at the same time.
Installing a patio can change the look of your entire backyard. It will increase the valuation of your property by at least 40% and if you add a fire pit, it can be even more!
Add an Outdoor Kitchen and/or Fireplace
An outdoor kitchen will not only improve the value of your home, it will be one of the greatest gifts you give yourself. During the summer, you can cook for your family without heating up the house. With it, you can hold parties, have intimate dinners with your significant other, throw birthday parties for the kids, and more. Your yard will become the hub of neighborhood gatherings.
Hire a Professional Lawn Care Service
Take a hard look at your lawn. Does it have bare patches and a mixture of weeds and grass? Hire a professional full-service lawn care company like J&S Landscaping. A beautiful lawn will tell potential buyers that your property is well-cared for and that you pay attention to the details. And if you already have a service that you trust, potential buyers will count that as one less thing they will have to find for themselves.
Adding Trees
Now study your trees. How are they looking? Do they need pruning? Or maybe you need to remove a couple and plant new ones.
Most landscaping experts will tell you that planting trees will increase your home’s value by more than $5,000. Unlike many things you add to your landscaping, well-cared for trees don’t degrade. They just grow more beautiful. And if they’re well-cared for—they outlive homeowners and go on to grace the next generation with their presence.
But they can’t be just any trees, and they have to be planted in the right place or they will actually be more of a hindrance than a help. You don’t want trees too close to the house or garage or they can damage your foundations. And you certainly don’t want to plant them near septic lines. Nor do you want a tree that’s going to shed pollen all over your patio.
This is another good reason to hire a full-service lawn care company who will not only recommend trees that fit your landscaping, but will plant and care for them too. A win-win.
Outdoor Lighting
Do you have outdoor lighting? Or is it outdated? Adding LED outdoor lighting will increase the value of your home as much as $2500!
Attractive outdoor lighting doesn’t just increases curb appeal. It makes walking around your property safer, especially if it’s placed near walkways and around outdoor features such as swimming pools. And if you combine it with a security system, it will add even more to the valuation of the property.
Add a Water Feature
The right water feature can increase your home’s value by 7%.
Studies have shown that the sound of running water lowers pulse rates and blood pressure. People hearing it tend to breathe more deeply, talk less, and listen more.
Water features like fountains offer these benefits and more. Add some plants or a small garden and a seating wall or bench, and you’ve given both yourself and future buyers a place to breathe for a few minutes on the busiest of days. If you or the realtor take people out to your backyard to experience this water feature, buyers are practically guaranteed to bump your house to the top of their list.
J&S builds beautiful high-quality water features. When you’re thinking about upping your landscaping game by adding one of these, give us a call and see what we can do for you!
Create a Sense of Privacy
A well-built privacy fence will increase your home’s value, as much as 10%, improving the sense of security and personal space. People are more likely to use a backyard if they don’t feel exposed when they go outside. And their pets and children will be safer too.
Irrigation Systems
An irrigation system will increase the value of your home by 12%.
These days, most of us don’t have the time to stand around with a hose, watering our entire lawn. And end-of-hose sprinklers are likely to over-water one section of the lawn and under water others, resulting in dead spots because of lack of water and browning grass because of over-watering. Moving that sprinkler around means you have to monitor the time and remember when you last moved it and where you put it.
So why with hassle with it at all when you can install an irrigation system to do the work for you? Your beautiful lawn, trees, and gardens will seem like a burden to buyers if they aren’t accompanied by a well-constructed, well-maintained irrigation system, such as one installed by J&S Landscaping.
When you tell a buyer that the lawn they’re looking at is accompanied by an irrigation system, they’re going to perk up and they’re going to be more interested.
Ready to Take on Projects that Increase Your Home’s Value?
J&S Landscaping is a member of the Michigan Nursery and Landscape Association. We provide top-notch lawn care and support for plants, trees, and shrubs. And everything we purchase and plant for you has a one-year guarantee.
J&S Landscaping is certified by the Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute to install paver patios & walkways, brick paver driveways, retaining walls and more. And we are also an authorized contractor for Belgard. J&S is so confident of our work that we certify our installations for two years. All of our crews are carefully trained, certified, and bonded.
Call today to learn more about what our company can do for you!
