I love the dirt! I really haven’t found too many things in life that bring me more peace than breaking the soil with my bare hands. I grew up on a Mid-Michigan farm and spent my days in the dirt, literally. Our gardens looked like small fields! I loved them. Oh….but if only I’d found a way to keep the squash from growing! I’d have been much happier come fall, when it seemed to be served with every meal and we froze enough to feed us amply throughout the winter and spring. Yucky! Anyway – –
If I wasn’t out hoeing the fields or working in the garden, I was most likely found in my plum thicket fort or out in the woods digging for bugs, imagining wild creatures and great adventures. Now you may wonder what this has to do with me as a Realtor or why I’d have it in my blog. Well, doing a little digging in the dirt can go a long way toward making your house feel like a home as well as add a lot of curb appeal. Just yesterday I was touring a home with a client. On the way out the door of a fairly positive showing she stopped to admire the large hanging basket of petunias on the porch. She then noted the unique vibrant colors of a hydrangea in the landscaping. It so captured her that we took a walk all the way around the home commenting on the different plants and flowers. It really helped open an avenue of communication and instill even more positive and “home” feelings for my buyer.
This doesn’t mean you have to become a huge gardener or landscaper. Note that her first comments were on a hanging basket. I moved again last summer. This year I re-stained our front deck and put two hanging flower baskets up and two deck rail planters that I added geraniums, petunias, and some other flowers to. I also converted an old giant flower pot into a tomato garden. I used some stone texture spray paint on an old pot, filled it with a little bit of stones, topped it off with good soil and added some grape tomato plants. Now I can walk out the kitchen door and grab some tomatoes for the salad, or snack as I sit on the deck to read! It was only a half hour job. I receive SO many compliments on my deck now. People love the beautiful view as they drive up. They’re not commenting on the new stain, nor the new table set, or the little gas fireplace, but the Wow Factor is coming from the flowers that bring it all together. Making a positive first impression is critical. Whether your home is for sale or not, its a beautiful and easy way to make your home stand out in a positive way.
As always, remember I would love to give you some free tips on making your home more beautiful while preparing it to sell. I can do it at the same time as a free market analysis! Call me today at 989-475-2958! Have a super awesome day!!
Your Real Estate Matchmaker 