Landscaping to Add Value to Property

Hello All,

We built a home last year, and the 4 bedroom house's main lounge was a little smaller than I had envisaged, due to a protected tree on the land the restricted how big the slab could go.
Anyway, when the build was completed, there was no garden as such. Just dirt, so landscaping something was required.
At the time I thought, that lounge being so small would impact the overall value of the house itself, as we had intended on selling soon.
Therein we decided to make the landscape far more wow than originally intended.

The landscape we are putting in involved (backyard is quite small):
- Excavation to make straight levels (we are on a hill)
- Retaining walls & concreting, with high fences to box us in.
- OK Sized pergola area, with built in outdoor fireplace.
- Large 8 Burner Outdoor BBQ Kitchen
- 8 Person Spa with rock water feature
- Small Lawn for kids
- A whole bunch palm trees and other plants & trees.

Anyways, we are attempting the wow factor garden resort effect.
Admittedly we went more overboard than I had originally intended, but spending a little extra over an above what I thought was neither hear nor there, so went for it anyway.

I realize i have broken the first cardinal rule of property investment to not get emotionally attached but as it has already happened, I will treat it as a learning experience. This is the first time I have had to landscape anything, and the journey has been a useful teacher.

Now to the question at hand.

Can folks share their landscaping experience, wowing up the back or front yards, and whether the effort resulted in any significant increase in the value of the property.

Thanks in advance.

I once planted grass seed in the front lawn that was dead. Replanted new plants in gardens , mulch in gardens, removed ugly volcanic rocks.
The front of the house is the most important part of landscaping.

An 8 person Spa and 8 burner BBQ and out door area could be over capitalizing
if no one who lives in this area expects these extras.

If you would like help with sprucing up a house you could use
Charyn's help
www.housestoimpress.com.au

Comments are of a general nature and may not be relevant to your individual circumstances. If you intend making any investment, financial or taxation decision you should consult a professional adviser.

Hi PC,

I agree that the front yard is absolutely the best place to spend your money when landscaping and in general when renovating the exterior of a property.

With my clients, I typically try to create a crisp, clear, modern effect by minimising the number of plants in the yard. It may be a matter of paring back what is there already. Or if there are no or minimal plants existing, planting a select few to add interest but not create a forest that a potential buyer is going to be put off by.

I've tried to paste a few images from my website so you can see some examples of simplified gardens that work really well. However, I will need to just add the link to the pages because I can't seem to make it work the other way...

http://www.hotspaceconsultants.com/_webapp_280988/69_Winifred_St
http://www.hotspaceconsultants.com/_webapp_417055/67_Yvonne_Crescent
http://www.hotspaceconsultants.com/_webapp_280978/87_Nichols_St

None of these gardens were expensive to create. Many of my clients might spend $2,000 - $3,000 at the most on landscaping. For investment properties, I believe that it's a matter of working with what you have and then making the most it. If it was a million dollar property then certainly you would spend more than $2,000 but you can still make the landscaping look fantastic with minor changes.

Re: the back yard - I tend to recommend a tidy up and minimal changes here. After all, people will generally make their judgement about the property when they first see it from the road. A blank canvas for a back yard is fine because if selling, your purchaser can create something there if they wish. If renting the property out, then a blank canvas really is all you should have anyway (in most cases) since only a small percentage of tenants will have an interest in gardening.

I hope that helps - and I wish you the best of luck on your next reno deal!

Jane Eyles-Bennett - Renovation Design Consultant
WHERE EVERY RENOVATION PROFITS www.hotspaceconsultants.com

Thanks guys. There are reasons to the madness.
The house is built on a new estate on a semi slope peak. Very muddy, and quite steep from the house to the boundary of the garden.

I had the option of doing a cheap landscape, but that would really just entail a fence with back garden that had a way steep slope. Whilst the cost of the landscape would have been cheaper, I came to the conclusion that it would devalue the house by doing this.

Also the living area of the house is quite small compared to the rest of the house so I decided to build a whole living \ entertainment area outside instead.

I guess there is always a balance between adding value and overcapitalising. You have to assess whether your suburb can support the price you want to put on your property in the future and get a return on investment.

Also remember how many hours of labour you are putting into it - would you make more money working somewhere else?

Queenbury Investments

Jeremy