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The Importance of Landscaping from an Appraiser’s Perspective

Written by Posted On Friday, 29 April 2016 21:04
Waco Lawn and Tree Service Waco Lawn and Tree Service

To Landscape or Not to Landscape...

 

 

So it’s time to sell your house and you are wondering what all you need to do for the property to sell at the highest value. In order to get a full perspective on your property you decide to call and consult a local appraiser to find out what you can do that will up the value of your property without breaking the bank. One of the things you want to ask about is how important is landscaping to the overall value of your property.

 

Now from an appraisal perspective we are sort of trained to look past certain things like boxes, dirty clothes, and general disarray. As long as the structure and finishes of the property aren’t affected we do should not take off points for general cleanliness. We do look at the overall general upkeep of the property so if we see things like peeling paint, worn carpeting, etc, then we will have to adjust against it. But, these things are still considered to be cosmetic repairs in nature and are usually minimal.

 

So when it comes to landscaping most of the time we can look at the landscaping as cosmetic. In fact it is usually seasonal and comparing a house with a brown yard to a house with a green yard will not usually matter. But as far as when you are putting your house on the market you should definitely do some landscaping because it will make a difference to most buyers. The types of landscaping that we will adjust for is when there is significant hardscaping. Exterior walkway lighting, retaining walls, brickwork, garden boxes, etc. These things have a higher cost and will convey with the property.

 

So to get back to the question of what you should do to improve the overall value of the property as far as landscaping is concerned depends on whether you are going to sell your property or if you are just going to refinance and need an appraisal. General landscaping will not make a difference in an appraisal but it will make a difference when you go to sell the property.

 

Also some other things you will want to consider will be to trim and prune your trees. Once again this will not improve the appraised value of the property but will definitely improve the overall appeal and look of your property once you go to sell it. It should also be noted that as a homeowner you need to make sure you keep up with trimming your trees especially when they are larger and can damage a portion of your house. Once a tree limb damages the exterior of your house or roof we as appraisers will have to reduce the value of the property.


Hopefully that cleared up the question of landscaping and your home value. If you have any questions about specific landscaping and/or tree care we recommend looking at Best Waco Tree Service website. As an appraiser I consult with them regularly on landscaping and hardscaping costs.

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Edward Aiken

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