In this real estate market, it’s more difficult than ever before to sell your home. Unfortunately, many homeowners overlook some very small changes that significantly impact a home’s ability to sell.

The most important overall factor affecting your home’s ability to sell is it’s “curb appeal,” which basically means what it looks like when someone is near the curb, driving by at a slow speed.

By maximizing your home’s curb appeal, you’ll make it that much easier to sell your home, and you’ll also get the best price possible. The most important factor affecting your home’s curb appeal is your home’s landscaping in Oakland Township.

First Impressions are Everything

In your life, you’ve been taught that first impressions mean the most. And that’s for a good reason, because that’s the way life works. Make a good first impression on another person and things go well. Make a poor first impression, and it may be difficult to ever build a relationship with that person again.

The same rule applies to selling your home. When people visit your home, the first things they notice are the home and its landscaping. The landscaping job done at your home in Troy or Bloomfield Hills MI introduces people to the property.

If your home has an unattractive landscaping job, the home will also appear unattractive. If your home has a great landscaping job, the home will appear to be much more attractive.

It’s really that simple.

How to Maximize the Value of Your Home with Landscaping in Oakland Twp., MI

Landscaping your home in order to maximize its resale value is really not that difficult. All you need to do is:

• Make sure you have well-defined edges
• Have a colorful design
• Ensure everything is neat and orderly

By doing these simple things, you’ll communicate to prospective buyers you care about your home, and they’ll be willing to pay you more for it.

Two things you never want to do are:

• Use plastic edging. It’s expensive, doesn’t work that well, and takes a ton of time to install.
• Use weed control fabric. Weeds grow right through the fabric and then develop roots going back through it. The stuff simply doesn’t work!

While landscaping is not overly difficult to do, it can take a fair amount of time, so you may want to hire a professional landscaping company to handle the work for you.

Call Domenico Brick Paving & Landscaping Today! 248.399.8807

But if you are trying to sell your home, you are already spending lots of money on improving the interior of the house to make sure that it is ready to sell, and you are probably spending money on moving as well. So how do you improve the curb appeal of your Oakland County, Michigan home without spending an arm and a leg on it?

• Include some mulch. If you have flower beds or plant life in the front of your home, adding mulch is an inexpensive way to improve the design. Not only that, but mulch will also help fight off weeds as well. Instead of bland dirt, landscaping designers like incorporating mulch into the front yard, as it can help make those flower beds “pop”.
• Prune your trees and shrubs. Too many houses are on the market with trees and shrubs that are overgrown and dead branches hanging in clear view of the home. This brings down the curb appeal drastically, and it gives the impression of a home that is not well-kept. You can fight this by taking some pruning shears and trimming your shrubs, and cutting off dead branches from those trees. This will help you tighten the appearance of the plants around your home, and improves the perception of the home.
• Add some color. Just planting some inexpensive but colorful flowers around the house can add great visuals that will attract buyers. Again, it is all about perception. Those colors will give the appearance of a house that is taken care of, and that is exactly what buyers are looking for when they are shopping around for a home. Landscaping designers always encourage color around a house to make sure that your home stands out.

As you can see, there is no need to break the bank when working on your curb appeal. Most landscaping designers would agree that a few simple changes can make big improvements on the look of your home to buyers.

There are plenty of reasons why brick paver restoration is a great investment in your home:

• It preserves a classic look. A brick paver patio or driveway carries much more character than a standard concrete one. Brick attracts the eye, and it stands out in the memory. If character is important to you in a home, then you owe it to yourself to make sure that the brick is fully restored, giving you a look that will last for years and years.
• Brick that is not restored can be a safety hazard. Imagine your child running down the driveway and tripping on a sunken brick. Picture a cracked or broken brick knocking a bicycle tire off course. What would you do if you popped a tire on your car on a pothole in your own driveway? These are the types of safety hazards to consider when looking at brick paver restoration. By restoring that driveway or patio, you will eliminate those trouble spots from these areas. As a result, you can enjoy a uniform and safe surface to live, play, and drive on.
• It will increase the value of your Rochester Hills, Michigan home. You have heard of “curb appeal”, right? This is the concept that a percentage of a home’s price is how it looks from the curb, or the exterior look of the house. Your driveway and patio play a huge role in how your home looks on the outside. Your brick paver restoration could make thousands of dollars’ worth of difference in the resale value of your home down the line. The best part about this is that it is very cost-effective. Brick paver restoration can produce fantastic results for very little upfront investment.

As you can see, brick paver restoration may just be a no-brainer for anyone looking to improve the quality and look of their home. Consider it if you have a patio or driveway that needs some fixing.

By not performing retaining wall repairs on a regular basis, you leave yourself open to several problems that could do a lot of damage to you, financially speaking.

• Injuries to pedestrians. Often, a retaining wall is on your Rochester Hills property to create room for a sidewalk between your yard and the road. Those who live on hilltops will see these retaining walls on the front of their yards. In this case, you have a legal obligation to keep that retaining wall maintained, as it is your property. If it fails and soil and/or water wind up flowing down onto the sidewalk, you will be responsible for clearing the sidewalk – and you also may be legally responsible for any injuries to pedestrians that result from this failure. Retaining wall repairs can keep you from having to deal with this.
• Damage to your property (or others’). During especially heavy rains, if your retaining wall’s drainage system is blocked or damaged, pressure can build up behind the wall and eventually cause a landslide-type reaction. When this happens, water, soil, and stone can all travel very quickly, plowing into your property and possibly the property and possessions of your neighbor. Maintaining your retaining wall can reduce the likelihood of this happening.
• Damage to your vehicles. Some retaining walls exist next to driveways. If this is true in your case, then that retaining wall is protecting your car from damage. If your car is parked in the driveway and your retaining wall fails, it can do major damage to a vehicle. Retaining wall repairs can keep that wall in top shape, averting major disasters involving your car. While you might be able to deal with a failed retaining wall in certain situations, it is difficult to handle significant damage to your car – especially if you use your car on a regular basis, as most people do.

As you can see, retaining wall repairs on a regular basis can keep you from putting yourself at risk of tragic instances like these. As Michigan weather can be unpredictable at times, and you never know what kind of pressure your retaining wall will be under, perform regular retaining wall repairs to keep it in place and doing its job.

Here are three examples of things you put at risk by not maintaining your brick paver driveway:

• Your car. You have spent thousands of dollars on your car. You might even be paying hundreds of dollars every month to keep your car. You rely on your car to not only get you to and from work, but to take kids to their school and to go out as a family. You need it to run properly at all times, and you make sure that it stays maintained so that it is always ready to run. But one of the worst events to happen to your car is having it hit a pothole. A pothole can pop a tire or do serious damage to the framework of your car. Now imagine that this pothole is in your own driveway. When you are not maintaining your brick paver driveway in Oakland County, MI, you leave those bricks open to shift and sink, and eventually forming a pothole.
• Your family. Obviously, the last thing you want to do is put your family at risk. But in this situation, you might be. A sunken brick or broken brick in a driveway is a safety hazard for any member of your family. It can be as simple as rolling your ankle while walking down the driveway to check the mailbox or something more serious – perhaps one of your children running in the driveway and tripping over a sunken brick. In any case, you do not want to put yourself or your family at risk. You can reduce the chances of this happening by maintaining your brick paver driveway in Rochester Hills.
• The value of your home. Looking to sell your home in the future? Curb appeal means a lot to a buyer. If your driveway pavers look dingy and cracked, your buyer will want to take thousands of dollars off the price of the house. By keeping it well-maintained, you protect the investment that you are making, and ensure that you get the best possible price for the sale.

If you have a brick paver driveway, maintenance is an essential step in protecting your car, your family, and your home.

Contact JJW BrickScape Today! – 586.634.9928

Here are some of the advantages offered by  a brick paver driveway in Michigan:

• Brick Pavers add character to your home. Even if you are unfamiliar with paver repair, a driveway with brick pavers will demonstrate a unique look to your home. Concrete is bland and common, but brick pavers are very attractive, and not every home has a driveway with brick pavers. When you are concerned about the curb appeal of your home, you ought to invest the time and energy in installing a brick paver driveway.
• It is much easier to conduct paver repair. Driveway surfaces are prone to damage and wear over time. Harsh Michigan winter weather can add pressure to the driveway and cause cracking to develop. Hot summer sun can fade the colors of your driveway (if any). At the end of a few years with your driveway, it may need some work. Fortunately, paver repair for a driveway is quick and simple, and much less involved than concrete. If a crack develops in a driveway, you may find yourself patching it or even needing to break up the rest of that section so that you can repave that entire area. It is a large hassle and you have to stay off your driveway until it is finished. On the other hand, paver repair for a driveway is as simple as removing the cracked brick and inserting a new one. You do not need to sacrifice the use of your driveway for days, and it is much more cost-effective.
• You can protect the uniformity of your driveway with brick pavers. When you patch a concrete driveway, you might have trouble matching the color of the concrete. As a result, your driveway looks like a patchwork of different colors, instead of the elegant, uniform look you were hoping for. With brick paver repair, your driveway can retain that look, as matching bricks is incredibly easy to accomplish.

With advantages to brick pavers like the ease and quality of paver repair, your driveway can have an excellent and unique look that will last much longer than a simple concrete driveway will.

Image Provided by Domenico Brick Paving & Landscaping

• Shading. In the heat of summer, you may use your air conditioners a lot. This is normal, as the windows and roof of your home can absorb a lot of heat, which is then transferred to the rest of your house. Strategically planted trees surrounding your home can provide shade that can make a 10-25 degree difference in the air surrounding your home. This is a significant amount that will certainly cut down on your air conditioner use. Landscape companies will know how to analyze the size and shape of the shadows of the trees in order to plant them in the right places, and also understand how the shadow will move throughout the day to ensure that it stays on your home as long as possible.
• Windbreaks. One of the worst parts about the bitter Macomb County winters is the wind chill. In the dead of winter, the wind can drop temperatures well below zero degrees. With the right trees and plant life around your home, this wind can be blocked and the effect that the wind chill has on your home can be reduced. Shrubs can even block snow drifts from slamming into your home. All of this reduces the effect that the winter will have on the temperature inside your home, so your furnace does not have to run as often.
• Water conservation. Keeping your landscape watered is important, as many landscape companies will tell you. But you do not want to be running the hose or your lawn sprinkler system all day, if you can avoid it. Many landscape companies know how to plant types of plants that will conserve your water usage. This will keep the topsoil moist longer and of better quality, requiring less watering. They will also show you how to irrigate them more efficiently, so that you are not wasting any water.

As you can see, landscape companies can do wonderful things for the areas surrounding your home that will not only be beautiful, but can also help you save money in the long run. Consider contacting Macomb County, Michigan landscape companies if you are interested in reducing your energy consumption.

• The poor inside view. There can be absolutely gorgeous landscape designs that are stunning when you are sitting outside. However, you do not spend your entire day outside. If you look out the window from your kitchen, how will the landscape look? Shoddy Oakland County, Michigan landscape services will not account for this view, and as a result, you have a nice back yard when you are in it, but for the majority of the time, it looks terrible from inside your house.
• The attraction of wildlife. Some very pretty plants can attract animals to your yard. Those pretty flowers? They could be chewed up by deer. Good landscape services understand this, so they mix in some bitter-tasting flowers that will deter those deer. Or those wonderful plants could attract rabbits that will chew them up as well. In this case, you will need some chicken wire or a small fence around your plants so that the rabbits cannot get to them. Bad landscape services will not pay attention to these factors, and as a result, homeowners spend half their time trying to rid their yards of all of these pests.
• Not understanding the maintenance. Like many areas of life, a big, attractive landscape is also much more responsibility. Having a garden or unique plant life in your yard also involves maintenance. You need to get rid of weeds, fertilize and water, and make sure that all the plants are being cared for properly. This is one of the biggest oversights, and you need to make sure that your company that is providing you with landscape services is keeping you informed of all the maintenance that will go into their choices. Neglecting your maintenance will turn your beautiful landscaping into an aesthetic nightmare or a major source of stress. Either way, you will not be happy.

Be wary of landscape services that do not seem to address these issues. If you are working with landscape services, bring up these issues with them at regular intervals to ensure that they are addressed.

When you seal brick pavers, you protect several aspects of your pool area that are crucial to the enjoyment of them with friends and family:

• You allow yourself to easily manage stains. When you seal brick pavers, you create a surface between the brick and anything that might splash on it. If you enjoy entertaining friends and family in and around the pool, you might find that a drink or food gets dropped on the brick, which then can cause staining if the brick is not sealed. But when it is sealed, you reduce the damage that can be done to the brick and you can preserve the clean look of the brick.
• You preserve the rich colors of the brick. Maintaining the appearance of your pool area is one of the main reasons to seal brick pavers around a pool. When you entertain, you want your outdoor area to look sharp and tidy. By sealing the brick around your pool, you keep your colors from fading from the harsh weather. As the sunshine beats down on the brick, it can fade if it is not protected properly. Sealing the brick will do that for you. This will keep the pool area looking fresh and new throughout the summer for years to come.
• You protect your family and your guests. Not only do the harsh summers fade the colors of the brick, but the harsh Oakland County, Michigan winters can wear down the brick with high winds and ice expanding between the bricks. As bricks shift and wear down, they can sink or crack. When this happens, the safety of the area is compromised. Suddenly, someone running around the pool or not paying attention to where they are walking becomes a risk for tripping and falling. You can avoid injuries by sealing brick pavers and keeping the weather from wearing down the bricks. This will keep them in place and ensure a uniform, level surface to run and play on.

When you seal brick pavers around a pool, you invest in the long-term quality and look of your pool area.