Good Homes, Bad Backyards: What You Need to Know

Sometimes, the home that is right for you comes with an exterior property that is all wrong. If the home is perfect but the backyard is completely out of control, you may still be able to turn it into an excellent place you will love for years to come. These tips will help you prepare.

Consider Safety

There is a reason that families with vulnerable members prefer homes with an enclosed backyard: It is easier to keep them safe. The first item to consider in the landscape is the safety hazards that are posed to you and any family. Make a list of the worst problems, with water features at the top of the list. Any old structures on the property may become a climbing risk for any children present, especially if they won't be fixed up and put to use. Make a plan to eliminate them or to put a fence up around the offending parts of the property.

Predict Seasonal Problems

Now, with a good assessment of what is going wrong right now, buyers can start to envision what might go wrong later on. After all, that dying tree that seems to be standing upright acceptably right now could fall in a very disturbing crash if a heavy snow piles on top of it, or if a heavy windstorm wits. Consider any inclement weather conditions common to the home's region. Will anything fall on or damage the roof? What about a big rainstorm in the middle of spring? Heavy snow? The list goes on.

Prioritize Issues

Most homeowners buy homes that do not require a great deal of work, but a moderate to-do list should not have to be a cue to look at other properties. In the event of there being extra money after a home purchase it can be invested to turn the property's backyard into a customized space suited to the buyer. Set priorities so the tasks that are most likely to become serious problems are worked on first. Ask a professional landscaping service to check out the home and provide an estimate on services. That way, there's no surprise in how much the bigger jobs are going to cost.

Create a Budget and Timeline

Setting a schedule for repairs and upgrades might seem fairly straightforward, but it does require some advance planning. With the landscaping estimates, buyers may be able to negotiate to have the seller fix some of the problems or lower the purchase offer so buyers have the wiggle room to solve them on their own. Create three individual timelines sorted into these categories:

• Jobs to do before moving in
• Tasks to complete before winter
• Upgrades to make in the next year

This will help to determine how much time is needed for each job and allow buyers to spread out the financial pain a bit.

Sometimes, a dream home simply does not appear exactly the way it's wanted to be. Fortunately, a few problems with the landscaping may not be too terribly difficult or expensive to fix. The best part is that it may be possible to make a lower offer and use the extra money to fix up the property just right.