4 Ways to Improve Your Lawn Before Selling Your Home

Improving your lawn before selling your home can boost your curb appeal, leading to a faster sale and better offers. Even in a desert, buyers find a home with dying, brown grass in the front yard a turn off.  For homeowners who have been relaxed about their lawn maintenance practices, improving the appearance of your lawn can be a multi-step project. The following tips will help you grow grass that is trim, lush and tidy for potential home buyers in the Paseos, or elsewhere like the Palisades.

Implement Good Grass Maintenance Habits

Growing beautiful grass takes extra work from homeowners. In order to be lush and green, grass needs adequate water and deep roots.

• Water your lawn in the early morning or in the evening: Doing this will cut back on water evaporation and will help ensure that your lawn gets the water it needs to stay healthy.  Do follow the seasonal water use restrictions.
• Don't cut too much off: Never cut more than 1/3 of the length of the blades of grass when trimming your lawn.
• Sharpen your mower blades: Sharpening the blades will prevent the grass from tearing when it's being cut.
• Don't water your lawn too much: Remember that longer and less frequent watering sessions will help your grass grow strong, deep roots. Clay soils may need less water, sandy soils may need more. Over watering your lawn can leach nutrients from the soil, so turn off your automatic sprinklers on weeks when you get extra rain.

Limit Dog Traffic

Dog waste can burn grass and create dead patches, and some dogs can run down grass in areas where they like to spend time. This can detract from all the work you put into your home's exterior. To help your grass grow healthy and strong, try to train your dog to do its business in one area of the lawn only, and take your dog for extra walks around the neighbourhood so you can limit your dog's time spent on the grass.

Fill In or Cover Up Bare Patches

Bare patches in the grass can make your lawn look desolate and unhealthy. If your lawn has bare patches, plant grass seed and keep the area moist until the grass has grown. Or replace those areas where grass wants to die with desert landscaping or a rock garden.

Edge Your Lawn and Garden Beds

Use an edger to trim back grass along the lawn's perimeter and around the garden beds. This will make your lawn look more tidy for home buyers.

Imagine what you would like to see from a home when you come to see it for the first time. If it is difficult to see where you should start, ask your agent what parts of the lawn need the most improvement.