Prepping Outdoor Areas for a Winter Sale – Consult with Bruce Coleman, Vancouver Mortgage Broker
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Prepping Outdoor Areas for a Winter Sale
Selling your Vancouver home in the winter months poses its own challenges when it comes to giving it some added curb appeal. Let’s face it, the yard doesn’t present as pretty a picture when the leaves are gone and the flowers aren’t there to give your yard some colour.
However, you want to put the best look that you can because winter can be somewhat drab and makes prepping your yard more of a challenge. This is especially true in a city like Vancouver because there’s so much rain and so little snow.
Here are some tips to help you make your home as appealing as it can during those gray months when you’re trying to sell.
Don’t Put Off Spring Maintenance – Do It Now
When everything dies out in the flower beds and the leaves fall, weeds still continue to grow in the beds and many plants just whither and turn brown. Many of us just leave the yard go, let the leaves lie where they fall and save all or most of our outdoor work for the spring months.
If you’re planning to sell your home and list it during the winter months, then you should take care of this badly needed spring maintenance now rather than later.
Although gardeners might have different approaches as to whether you should do some pruning or wait till spring, if you’re listing your home during the winter, you have take a more proactive and practical approach.
So, you need to do all the raking that you can now and don’t leave it. You also want to give special attention to all shrub, flower beds and your vegetable garden if have one. Either clean out the beds or rotor till the dead stuff under because the more sprucing up you can do now, the better the home appears maintained and has higher curb appeal.
Don’t Overdo Holiday Decorations
Many people like to put up their holiday decorations in November and leave them up until late in February or even March. First, there’s nothing wrong with celebrating the holidays with some outdoor decorations. If anything they can add a little colour and charm.
However, don’t go overboard especially if are prone to putting out a lot of lights and holiday related figures such as reindeers or Frosty. As you will be getting a variety of viewers of different beliefs, it might be a good idea to scale the decorations back and keep them more conservative. Maybe just put a few lights around windows or on one or two conifers if you have them.
More importantly, when the holidays are done and weather permitting then put the decorations away as soon as you can.
Keep the Driveway and Walkway Clean
When the weather is bearable, take the time to periodically sweep your walkways and the driveway. And, if it snows or you get some freezing rain, makes sure that you shovel promptly and add some salt or its equivalent on icy spots.
It might also be a good idea to shovel off the walk in front of your even if you’re not obligated to do so. If you get a dump of snow, then a prospective buyer might appreciate your attention to detail.
Take Care of Any Other Maintenance
If weather permits and some outside areas of the home need a lick of paint, then you might take a chance and get that done if you get a bit of a warm spell. Clean the outside of the windows if and when you can, and make sure you have good lighting because the days are short.
