4 Ways Lawncare Impacts Real Estate and Rental Properties
When thinking of lawn care, the first thing that often comes to mind is the yard of your home or commercial space. We’ve written a lot about ways to make your yard beautiful and unique, and how to make the most of the outdoor spaces you and your family so enjoy. But what about making adjustments to your lawn for another purpose – to assist in the buying and selling of your home or the rental of your property?
Austin is a hot real estate market, with one source reporting a 13% year-over-year increase in the housing market. It’s also a renter-majority market, which in basic terms means there are a lot of rental properties on the market at any given time. When it comes to lawn care, this actually has a lot more importance than you think! Read on to learn how lawn care can impact your home’s rental or sale.
Lawn Care Matters: How A Well-Maintained Lawn Impacts Your Sale or Rental
Properties often sell or rent better when their grounds are attractive and clean, meaning lawncare can play a factor in real estate transactions. When it comes to lawn care needs for a seller or renter, this can vary from a one-time engagement before an event like an open house or walkthrough, to an ongoing contract to keep a yard maintained throughout the duration of a rental. So how exactly does having a visually pleasing, well-maintained lawn and garden impact real estate?
Make Photos Look Stunning
In real estate, photos are a huge deal. A good amount of time, expense and care can go into staging a house and taking stunning professional photos. People are increasingly turning online to assess properties, and sometimes solely relying on online imagery when making a decision. This means the photos you have are more important than ever! And the importance of these photos doesn’t stop inside. Photos also have the potential to reveal an amazing, beautiful yard which can be a real selling point for a home. They can also showcase imperfections outdoors, or a lawn that’s been neglected or in desperate need of some TLC. Sprucing up your lawn or garden (or both) will provide another venue to showcase your property and the beauty of your home.
Impress People In-Person
Whether you’re preparing to rent or sell your home, every aspect of the property will be under scrutiny by prospects. Often the outside of your home is just as important as how things look inside, especially in a climate like central Texas where it’s warm and people spend a good deal of time outdoors all year round. As a result, it’s essential that your lawn is clean and tidy for all in-person visits to the property, as this can impact a prospect’s decision to buy or rent. Basic things like having your grass mowed to the appropriate length, having clean edges around your garden beds, and having a lawn free of debris can go a long way. Added features like attractive landscaping, from trees to shrubs to gardens or flower beds, can be a huge value-add or draw for a prospect, too. Having a nice yard will entice buyers to imagine themselves sitting outdoors enjoying the space. It’s also an easy and affordable way to enhance the overall appearance of your property.
Stand Out From the Crowd
There are a lot of properties in the Austin market. This can be both a good and bad thing for those renting and selling. A hot market means people have a lot of options, but it also means a lot of competition. This can be an opportunity when it comes to lawn care! For prospects walking through rental after rental, many of which are news and similar in terms of construction and style, one area to stand out is your lawn. Many people focus on making the interior perfect but neglect to do the same outside, so an outstanding yard just might mean the difference between a prospect choosing your property over another. Keeping your yard tidy, neat, and cultivating amazing spaces could lead to a better chance of converting those prospects into renters.
Get Good Reviews
If you’re renting your house, it’s likely that routine lawn care and maintenance will be part of the package a renter gets when they rent with you. This means you need a professional, reliable lawn care service you can depend on to take care of the property – especially when you’re not there. If lawn care is an easy, stress-free and positive experience for your renter, this may impact their overall experience and the reviews they provide. Of course, a positive experience and reviews can lead to benefits for your rental business into the future. It also leaves you worry-free, so you don’t have to think too much about lawn care during the duration of your rental.
If you’re a real estate agent or renter planning to put your house on the market, it might benefit from a fall yard clean up or some landscaping work. Contact Grassworks today to learn more about how our services can help you!
Ferris MyCue is the founder and owner of Grass Works Lawn Care, LLC located in Leander, TX. As a former firefighter who maintained yards on his days off, he saw a need for a dependable, local maintenance company that knew the hill country climate and could deliver quality landscaping services for a reasonable price. Since 2007 he has used his leadership to grow the company into one of the top landscape maintenance companies in Austin and surrounding areas offering landscape maintenance, design, and irrigation services to both residential and commercial clients. Ferris is also a member of the Seasonal Employment Alliance (SEA) and an active participant in advocacy efforts to help promote cap relief.