Ever wonder how much value is added or decreases when a property's yard is either well maintained or neglected? Over the years I have heard that landscaping improves the value of the home by some where in the neighborhood of up to 14%. With that being said... ever wonder how much buyers are now taking off of the offers for REOs that have yard that look like they have not been cared for months?
And should they? If landscaping and yard maintenance improve the value of the property, doesn't it work in revserse if the yard is not maintained? What is a fair decrease for an un-maintained yard?
The going color of lawns right now is yellow (same as dead grass).
The weeds are nice and green and stand some 3-4 feet tall and some yards are even worse. Does the buyer look at this and fail to see the beauty of the house? How are the neighbors dealing with yards (sometimes right next door) that are not being maintained? Are there rats and other creators in there?
What would the bank say if they knew?
I had a neighbor (a concerned neighbor) call me as soon as I put the notice up on one of my REO listings. She wanted to know if I was going to keep the lawn up! She said she wanted me to know that the neighborhood is pretty watchful of the homes that are being neglected! She said we'd get a citation if the yard was not kept green and cut. I promised her that I would maintain the yard and I have kept that promise.
But when I drive through the streets of Stockton and notice that you can always tell a foreclosed home by the lawn.... I am wondering why other agents are not mindful of the lawns and have a regular lawn maintanence crew to go out and cut and water the lawns.
If you maintain REO properties, what are you doing about the lawns? Are you watering and cutting the grass or are you letting the lawn go and die? Its summer do you worry about the fire possibilities for dried grass that will burn quickly?
I am finding that short sale properties are in better shape than REOs -- especially the yards.
What does your neighborhood look like - are there are a number of foreclosed homes that are not being maintained properly?
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Check out: Real Estate Terms/Definitions. And take a look at Mother and Daughter Blog and D'Adrea's Mother and Daughter Blog - for other tips for Sellers and Buyers. I work with my daughter as the Mother and Daughter Real Estate Team at Family Realty Group and we also focus in Short Sales and the Pre-Foreclosure process and REOs/Bank Owned Properties. Our consultations are free. Our aggressive marketing plan includes on-line listing advertising. If you are thinking of selling or buying a home in Northern California's Central Valley (San Joaquin County CA - includes Stockton, Manteca, Tracy, Lathrop) plus Stanislaus County CA - includes Modesto, Salida, Riverbank) & the East Bay (Alameda County CA - includes Hayward, Fremont, Newark, Union City & Oakland) and surrounding areas give us a call. If you would like a FREE Home Seller or Home Buyer Handbook, please call us at 866-750-8282 or email at US.
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Rosemary Brooks
Patrick Williams & Associates
Mother and Daughter Realty Team
PH: 866-543-0461
FAX: 866-815-1649
EMAIL: info@motheranddaughterrealtyteam.net
WEBSITE: www.motheranddaughterrealtyteam.com



realize. One of the first tasks you have is to do a BPO on the property. You research and give your honest opinion of the value of the property based on similiar comps in the radius of the property. From the moment you submit that BPO,things start to change. The first change is that, you will probably not see the suggested list price that you submitted again. Well, if you do see it, it is months later!!

