Everyone knows you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. But while that’s definitely true for books, it isn’t necessarily the case for homes. The outside of a house can tell a prospective home buyer a lot about how well a house has been maintained. That’s why, the Appraisal Institute recommends homeowners improve their home’s exterior and landscaping, if they want to increase its value. “A home with lackluster landscaping or an exterior in desperate need of a fresh coat of paint will likely be unappealing to prospective buyers and ultimately could affect the home’s potential resale value,” Jefferson L. Sherman, president of the Appraisal Institute, says. The institute recommends removing weak, old, or damaged trees, keeping landscape design in line with comparable properties in the area, and taking care of your lawn. And, since the National Association of Realtors says standard lawn care services recover 267 percent of their cost at resale, there’s no excuse not to. Other landscape maintenance projects that recoup all, or most, of their cost include tree care and irrigation system installation. (source)
