It may seem like a simple detail, but well-done lawn care in Detroit, as well as landscaping, can actually positively impact your home’s value.
If you are considering selling your Detroit home, now may be the perfect time! According to an article published in January 2020 in The Detroit News, “Home values in Detroit rose 20% citywide last year, the largest overall increase in at least two decades…” City officials say that is the highest single-year increase since 1997!
One thing you do not want to overlook when putting your house on the market is the importance of curb appeal, and a beautiful lawn can certainly work to your advantage in that respect. In fact, the president of the National Association of Realtors (NAR), Elizabeth Mendenhall, said, “Realtors® understand that a home’s first impression is its curb appeal, so when it comes time to sell, a well-manicured yard can be just as important as any indoor remodel.”
However, you want to be smart about your lawn care and landscaping! The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) suggests investing about 10% of your property value into landscaping for a positive return on investment.
This article will examine some of the ways you can smartly invest (or DIY) in lawn care in Detroit to get the best price for your home!
Lawn maintenance
At the very least, you should be making sure that your Detroit lawn is looking neat and lush.
According to the NAR, something as simple as maintaining and caring for your lawn can really make a big difference at closing!
If you want to increase the curbside appeal of your Detroit home, the first lawn care step is pretty simple: clean up that lawn! Rake away any dead leaves, pull up weeds from the root and mow. Also, don’t forget that your lawn is thirsty, so put a plan in place for regular watering if there is not enough rainfall.
For more info, check out our article on The Do’s and Don’ts of Lawn Care in Detroit!
Plant Native Plants
It’s no secret that a pop of color can improve the look of your landscaping, but be sure to use plants that are native to Detroit and/or Michigan.
Native plants will require a lot less maintenance because they already know how to survive in the climate without you! Plants that are native to Michigan, in particular, will be much more drought and freeze-resistant, in addition to requiring less maintenance.
The same principle applies to your grass type, as well. A key factor in lawn care in Detroit includes choosing the right grass type for the weather. Consider reseeding bare patches in your lawn with grass types like Tall Fescue or Kentucky Bluegrass, which are known to thrive in cooler climates.
This is an especially smart investment if you are planning to DIY your landscaping and don’t consider yourself to have much of a “green thumb.” With a little research, you can find a few native plants and place them strategically for the best results!
The Pretty Purple Door, a beginner home gardeners' blog, suggests planting the same time of plant, color of plant or plant feature in repetitive groups of three, five or seven for more impact.
Trim trees and shrubs
Another great way to keep your Detroit lawn looking neat is to give those trees and shrubs a much-needed shape up!
If you have overgrown trees and shrubs, it will certainly make your yard look excessively messy. Think about it like you’re giving your yard a haircut! Just like you might get a haircut before going to a job interview, for example, you want to do the same to your yard so it can make a good first impression on potential buyers.
While shrubs and trees certainly provide important functions, such as privacy and noise reduction from your neighborhood, you want to make sure they look neat and prim. This is especially important if you are trying to sell your Detroit home!
Don’t overthink it!
While you may think that more added features will result in a higher ROI, there is actually a sweet spot in the middle to get the most bang for your buck.
In other words, some lawn care features are better than others in terms of increasing your property value. According to the NAR, “When asked which outdoor projects produce the most substantial financial payouts at resale, Realtors® ranked standard lawn care service at the top, which recovers 267 percent of the project cost at resale. Next, Realtors® named landscape maintenance and tree care, both recovering 100 percent of the cost at resale, and installing an irrigation system, recouping 86 percent.”
In other words, don’t get too fancy if you are looking to clean up your lawn and landscaping to put your home on the market. Just because something is expensive does not mean it will add significantly to the value of your home.
When in doubt, consult your real estate agent about the market and expectations of buyers in Detroit.
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