Kerb appeal and garden: the cheapest value you can add
The front of the property is the lead photograph and the first thing a buyer sees. It is also the cheapest thing to improve.
Buyers form a view before they get out of the car, and that view colours everything they see afterwards. A well-presented exterior sets an expectation of a well-maintained property; a neglected one creates a suspicion of deferred maintenance that the interior has to overcome.
The cost of improving it is low relative to the effect, which makes it the highest-return preparation a seller can do.
The front of the property
The front is the lead photograph in almost every listing and the first impression on every viewing. The work required is mostly labour rather than money.
- Clear the front garden, path and driveway of everything that is not meant to be there
- Clean the windows, the door and any paintwork, and repaint the front door if it is tired
- Tidy or replace the house number and any external fittings
- Repair or replace a broken gate, fence panel or boundary wall
- Cut back overgrown planting and keep the lawn short and edged
- Clean or repaint the render or brickwork if it is visibly marked
The garden
A garden should read as usable space rather than as a project. Buyers want to see somewhere to sit, some structure, and the absence of problems.
- Clear the clutter: children's toys, tools, bins and anything stored outside
- Cut everything back, mow and edge, and remove dead planting
- Clean the patio and any decking, and treat timber that is greying
- Repair obvious defects: broken fencing, a leaking gutter, a damaged shed
- Add inexpensive structure if the garden is bare: a couple of planted pots by the door
- Hide the bins, which photograph badly and imply a lack of space
What not to do
Extensive landscaping rarely returns its cost, because buyers want to impose their own taste on a garden and will discount work they intend to redo. A garden that is tidy, usable and problem-free achieves most of the value of a designed one.
The exception is a garden that is genuinely unusable — completely overgrown, or with a structural problem such as a collapsing retaining wall. In that case, addressing it is not optional, because it will deter buyers entirely.
Common questions
- Should I landscape my garden before selling?
- Tidy it, clear it and repair any defects, but avoid extensive landscaping. Buyers want a garden that is usable and problem-free, and they will discount work they intend to redo to their own taste. Clearing, mowing, edging, cleaning the patio and repairing broken fencing achieve most of the value for very little cost.
- How important is kerb appeal?
- Very. The exterior forms the lead photograph and the first impression, and buyers form a view before they enter the property. A neglected exterior creates a suspicion of deferred maintenance that colours everything else they see. The work is mostly labour rather than money, which makes it the highest-return preparation available.