Spring is officially upon us, and that means that landscaping and all sorts of lawn maintenance in order for all homeowners, especially anyone interested in selling their property. It’s always fun to keep your front and back yards manicured and updated every spring, but before you and your family start digging up a bunch of holes and conduct an entire outdoor project you should first understand how landscaping can benefit and also hurt your home’s overall property value.
When it comes down to it your property value is always going to be really important when it comes to your insurance premiums, and so much else, so we’re lucky to have teamed up with tree removal des moines to help you learn more about how you can protect your home’s property value while also understanding fully the benefits and downsides of landscaping in terms of home value.
The following are 5 really important things to consider when it comes to how landscaping can affect your home’s overall value!
- 1. Trees can cause damage and can add value to a property
Every homeowner wants to get a return on their investment when it comes to their landscaping and how it affects their property value, and it’s a common rule of thumb in the real estate world that trees, especially mature trees, can bring much more than natural beauty to anyone’s lawn and can actually increase home values when they are planted properly and in the right locations. It’s even been estimated that mature, healthy trees can increase a home’s value by up to 10 percent!
BUT, there are also some serious downsides to consider when it comes to planting and utilizing the value of trees in your landscaping investments. For instance, if you plant a tree a little bit too close to your home there are chances that the tree’s roots will extend underneath your property and potentially cause some kind of issues with your foundation. Oaks, poplars, willows and many other larger trees are known to do this kind of damage. Tree roots can also damage sidewalks and patios as well.
Also, another big thing to remember about large trees is that their roots will always naturally grow towards water sources, which can mean sewers or even a leaky water pipe. If a root does find a leak in a water pipe it could very easily grow into the pipe and cause a whole bunch of structural damages, blockages and all sorts of water line disruptions.
The best thing you can do when you are thinking about planting a tree is to do your research and make sure your giving the tree enough space to grow in a healthy way without damaging your yard or foundation.
- 2. Be careful of all types of plants that tend to dry out certain soils
There are a lot of trees that can tend to dry out a yard’s soil in the spring and summer months, and this can sometimes get so bad that it could lead to some sort of ground shrinkage underneath the foundation of your home. The ways you can make sure you don’t make these kinds of mistakes is to first do your own research on the moisture levels in your region in terms of soil and then make your plant and landscaping decisions based off of your region’s levels.
- 3. Vines that grow up the side of a house can damage paint or even bricks
There’s no doubt about it that having ivy growing up the side of your home has a really nice aesthetic appeal to it, which can many times add value to your home in terms of curb appeal, but this same ivy can cause some serious issues that everyone should know about. Paint and siding of many types can be very seriously damaged when ivy grows up the side of a home, which can lead to a ton of expenses on your part to fix this mess, or a much diminished property value. Ivy even has the ability to grow in between small cracks in bricks and eventually create stability issues by slowly but surely separating the bricks. Vines can even pull apart roof tiles and gutters as well if they reach the roof.
Our advice is to first of all never let your ivy grow all the way up to your roof, and if you are going to grow ivy along the sides of your home make sure you consult a professional landscaper to help you plan out how the ivy will travel over time.
- 4. Prickly bushes can potentially deter break ins
It’s true that certain plants can help deter burglars from breaking into your home, and this is something that a lot of homeowners utilize in strategic ways. When you place certain plants and bushes near your windows you can make it much more difficult for anyone to get in the window without hurting themselves, and this essentially adds value to your home in a security way.
- 5. Property value can increase with native plants
By using plants, flowers and all sorts of shrubs that naturally grow in your area you are going to get not only a lot of natural beauty but also low maintenance landscaping. This can always be able to increase your property’s overall value.
