Saturday, March 13, 2010

Zero Curb Appeal

We've been pretty discouraged in the process of selling the house. There have been a few lookers, one couple even came back a second time. But we've had a dry spell. True, the tractors and big piles of dirt didn't help, but it was all up and down the street, not just our house.

I started thinking that perhaps potential buyers were getting addresses from their realtors and driving by houses to decide which ones they want to look at. Keep in mind that winter in the high desert is dead. Everything, well, most everything looks dead. It'll be another month or two before we're in flowering full swing. What's a person to do?

I went out to the front of the house to assess my curb appeal. ZERO! The bushes have grown so large that you can't even see the front of the house!

The planting area in front also looks dead. It'll be a couple more months before the plants show any real life and are in bloom.

I know the yard, too, looks dead, but with the monsoons, this will all look like a lush lawn that has to be mowed at least once a week. But for now, dead.

So instead of being discouraged, I told Hubby we need to get out there and feel like we're making some progress, even if it's just us working. Trim back the bushes, put in some more flowers in the big pots in front, find some flowering shrubs that will look good right now for the planting area.

Inside, we have cleaned out, boxed up, it looks pretty good. Thank goodness the backyard was landscaped by the previous owners and stays in pretty good shape.

Any suggestions or ideas you may have for my curb appeal, speak up! You're not going to hurt my feelings, really. :)

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

my house is on the market, and has been for a yr and a half..I was so down about it I even pulled it off for the winter...just put it back on the market...the realitor told me to clean up the yard(leaves etc) plant some pretty things in the pots and paint the door red...I did all he said, and the trafic has increased> Im not sure what it was, but something changed.

best of luck my friend;)

pam said...

I have no hints for landscaping in a desert! But I do agree that those bushes are too tall.

amuse me said...

Isn't there supposed to be some lucky charm like planting a St. Francis of Asisi in your front yard that will help? I think your place looks great. I love the simplicity of it. :)M

septembermom said...

I'm also clueless about landscaping. Sorry. I do like the character of your house. Very nice.

GingerV said...

if I remember right no one buys a house now - until after tax time and move in after school lets out.... some bight colored flowers even in pots that wont hold up under the hot sun - definitely trim the bushes.

GingerV said...

by the way there are some very nice flowering bushes - like oleander that look nice. My mother used to have a ground cover with yellow flowers on it - probably a weed but was proliphic and nice color

Suburban Girl said...

The bushes look out of control and neglected, which would make one worry about neglect inside the house. The bushes seem more like a blockade than an invitation to come in. If you can somehow highlight the front door and make it inviting and less intimidating I think that would help a lot. Also, highlighting that pretty window to the right would be great. That's my honest answer hopefully that will help, I hope. Good luck!

shabby girl said...

You're all right. It does look neglected. That's sad because the inside and back are quite lovely. I went out yesterday and cut back all of the dead leaves out of the circle and trimmed the dead sticks. Today will be the bushes. At least one of them. There are bright flowers in the two pots at the front windows, but you can't see them because of the bushes. The pots could use more flowers too, since the pansys don't come up high enough to show.
Thanks for your advice! I'll post a pic when it's done.

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