Hiring a professional lawn care company is one of the smartest investments you can make before listing your home for sale. An expert in lawn care can transform a dull lawn into a luscious, healthy green turf that increases your home’s resale value.
Benefits of Professional Lawn Care
What Is Professional Lawn Care?
Professional lawn care involves maintenance tasks that require special products, tools, and knowledge. It includes weed and pest control, fertilizing, and aeration. If the lawn develops bare spots or suffers from diseases, professional lawn care services will address the issue. You can also count on a lawn care company to help your lawn withstand harsh weather conditions.
With an expert in maintaining your lawn, you can rest assured your turf will be lush, green, and healthy. You can avoid common but costly mistakes, like over-fertilizing, which damages or even kills the grass. A reliable lawn care professional will only use methods and products that are safe for the environment, people, and pets.
Saving time is another benefit of using a professional lawn care service. Lawn care is time-consuming and physically demanding. By outsourcing your lawn maintenance tasks to experts, you can use your time for more valuable activities like spending quality time with your family.
Finally, professional lawn care ensures a turf that boosts your property’s curb appeal. More than 70% of homeowners agree that a well-kept lawn helps improve curb appeal alongside exterior painting and beautiful windows.
How Much Can Professional Lawn Care Increase Your Home’s Resale Value?
Does a good lawn increase home value? Definitely!
Your lawn is part of your landscaping, which can increase a home’s price by about 10%. That is a significant increase that may translate to thousands of dollars in home value. According to the National Association of REALTORS (NAR), even standard lawn maintenance, like mowing and annual mulch application, provides over 100% return on investment (ROI).
Understanding the Impact of Professional Lawn Care on a Property’s Value
Professional lawn care affects the resale value of property mainly because lawns impact curb appeal. A property’s curb appeal can be just as crucial as its layout and design.
Curb appeal refers to the degree of attractiveness one may feel when viewing your home from listing photos or the street. It is what gives potential buyers their first impression of the property. Great curb appeal will help you stand out from the competition. It will help draw in more buyers, which means more chances to sell property for a great price.
A lush, green, well-maintained lawn will instantly add to your home’s curb appeal. It signals to homebuyers that you’ve taken care of the property and it’s in good condition. On the other hand, unkempt landscaping and overgrown grass can give the impression of neglect. It may also cause homebuyers to assume there are hidden issues with your property.
Determining the Cost of Professional Lawn Care Services
If you want to know how much professional lawn care will cost you, get a quote from a trusted expert in lawn care near you. The cost of expert lawn care services varies depending on many factors, like the service you need, the frequency of visits, and lawn size.
To get insight into the cost of professional lawn care services, list exactly what your lawn needs. Do you need a specific lawn care service or full-service lawn care? The latter includes everything from fertilizing and aeration to pest and weed control. Yearly contracts are usually more affordable than getting individual lawn care services.
Your lawn size will also influence the total lawn care cost. Bigger yards require more time, effort, and products, so the service fees tend to be higher. On average, full-service lawn care costs over a thousand dollars. Basic lawn care may only cost a few hundred bucks per acre.
The products used by your contractor will also influence the lawn care service price. Chemical-based fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides generally cost less than natural lawn care products. However, organic lawn care offers more benefits that far outweigh the cost. They are safer and make the soil healthy over time.
Contractors also adopt different pricing models. Some charge per hour, while others charge based on the number of visits. Some contractors offer packages with fixed pricing.
Tips for Making the Most of Your Money With Professional Lawn Care
Hiring a professional to maintain your lawn will save you more money than DIY lawn care in the long haul. But it’s undeniable that lawn care can get expensive, especially if you have a large yard. So here are a few tips to help you get the most out of your money:
- Choose your contractor carefully. Find proof that the contractor offers quality services. Read reviews on social media platforms or review sites like Yelp. Check their portfolio to see what the company has already accomplished.
- Look for money-saving offers. To attract more customers, lawn care companies often offer discounts and promos at different times of the year. You can take advantage of these deals to save money.
- Recommend the company to your family or friends. If the company offers a referral program, consider encouraging your network to use the service as well.
Invest in Quality Landscaping to Boost Your Home’s Resale Value
If you want to sell your property for a very good price, you must improve your landscaping, not just your lawn. Landscaping encompasses the exterior area around your residence, including the plants and ornamental or architectural structures and features.
Landscaping has a good return on investment. However, remember that not all landscaping projects will increase your home’s value. Specifically, landscaping projects that are too costly to maintain or too niche, like a cactus garden, may put off many home buyers. So, choose your landscaping improvements carefully.
Generally, you’ll never go wrong with decks made of composite materials, large trees, mature greenery, and sprinkler systems. Many homeowners also appreciate landscape lighting for its aesthetics. Adding more outdoor lights augments safety and security as well. Also, consider planting drought-friendly plants and adding features that require little to no irrigation.
To determine what landscaping projects are worth investing in, consider how the project will affect your home’s overall appearance from the street. Then, think about the level of maintenance the project requires and whether it suits your local climate and conditions. Finally, consider the cost. A good rule to remember is to keep your landscaping and outdoor improvement budget within 20% of your property’s current value.
Tips for Maintaining a Healthy and Lush Lawn for Maximum Home Resale Value
We’ve already established the importance of maintaining a beautiful, healthy lawn in increasing your home’s resale value. Now, let’s briefly discuss steps to achieve that healthy, lush lawn.
First, ensure your grass is well-hydrated so the blades don’t curl and turn brown. Learn about proper watering techniques because too little or too much water is bad for your lawn. Water your lawn once per week with about an inch of water. If you choose not to outsource mowing, ensure you cut the grass at the right height, use a lawnmower with sharp blades, and ensure the clippings are bagged after mowing.
You can leave the rest of the maintenance tasks, like fertilizing and weed control, to lawn care professionals. If you’re in Toronto, you can count on LawnMart. Learn more about our lawn care services or contact us for a free quote.