I am thinking about having my back garden tidied up and made low
maintenance. I estimate that this will cost circa £2,000. At the moment it
doesnt look great - It needs fencing/trellis both sides to make it private
and there is too much in there in terms of bushes/trees etc. Can I ask
whether this investment would pay off in terms of adding value to my
property i.e would it at least add £2,000 to the valuation?

"Ray Mooney" <r.mooney [at] btinternet.com> wrote in message
news:u7ydnX47z_L55DLZnZ2dnUVZ8qednZ2d [at] bt.com...
> I am thinking about having my back garden tidied up and made low
> maintenance. I estimate that this will cost circa £2,000. At the moment it
> doesnt look great - It needs fencing/trellis both sides to make it private
> and there is too much in there in terms of bushes/trees etc. Can I ask
> whether this investment would pay off in terms of adding value to my
> property i.e would it at least add £2,000 to the valuation?
>
>

Yes if the next person is likes it.

No if the next person in is put off by it and 'knocks you down' in price
because of the work which has got to be done to 'tidy the garden up'

As an example, one of my daughters is buying another house. The bathroom has
only been in for a couple of years. It is awful and we are stripping it out
and replacing it. Possibly £3000 worth 'down the drain' and cheapened the
house as far as my daughter is concerned.

However, if you want to invest that amount 'for your pleasure', then yes.

I am spending about £1000 putting a verandah across the back of the house.
"We" like it. I doubt if it has put £1000 on the house and if the next
people in, ........... when we pop our cloggs, don't like it, then a
mornings work with a saw and a hammer takes it down :-((

Mike


--
------------------------------------------------
Royal Naval Electrical Branch Association
www.rnshipmates.co.uk
International Festival of the Sea 28th June - 1st July 2007

"Mike" <not [at] here.thanks> wrote in message
news:1vCdnaMoOYb5HTLZRVny2Q [at] bt.com...
>
>
> "Ray Mooney" <r.mooney [at] btinternet.com> wrote in message
> news:u7ydnX47z_L55DLZnZ2dnUVZ8qednZ2d [at] bt.com...
>> I am thinking about having my back garden tidied up and made low
>> maintenance. I estimate that this will cost circa £2,000. At the moment
>> it
>> doesnt look great - It needs fencing/trellis both sides to make it
>> private
>> and there is too much in there in terms of bushes/trees etc. Can I ask
>> whether this investment would pay off in terms of adding value to my
>> property i.e would it at least add £2,000 to the valuation?
>>
>>
>
> Yes if the next person is likes it.
>
> No if the next person in is put off by it and 'knocks you down' in price
> because of the work which has got to be done to 'tidy the garden up'
>
> As an example, one of my daughters is buying another house. The bathroom
> has
> only been in for a couple of years. It is awful and we are stripping it
> out
> and replacing it. Possibly £3000 worth 'down the drain' and cheapened the
> house as far as my daughter is concerned.
>
> However, if you want to invest that amount 'for your pleasure', then yes.
>
> I am spending about £1000 putting a verandah across the back of the house.
> "We" like it. I doubt if it has put £1000 on the house and if the next
> people in, ........... when we pop our cloggs, don't like it, then a
> mornings work with a saw and a hammer takes it down :-((
>
> Mike
>
>
> --
> ------------------------------------------------
> Royal Naval Electrical Branch Association
> www.rnshipmates.co.uk
> International Festival of the Sea 28th June - 1st July 2007

Doesnt seem worth spending any money on a property in your neck of the
woods, Mike.

I understood the particularly run down area of Lake where you live, is
likely to be "redeveloped" before very long.....................

>
> Doesnt seem worth spending any money on a property in your neck of the
> woods, Mike.
>
> I understood the particularly run down area of Lake where you live, is
> likely to be "redeveloped" before very long.....................
>
>

Oh dear :-((

Once again 'ken' pokes his oar into something he knows sod all about, does a
little bit of sh1t stirring and gets it wrong :-((

Why do you bother?

Mike


--
------------------------------------------------
Royal Naval Electrical Branch Association
www.rnshipmates.co.uk
International Festival of the Sea 28th June - 1st July 2007

Ray Mooney <r.mooney [at] btinternet.com> writes
>I am thinking about having my back garden tidied up and made low
>maintenance. I estimate that this will cost circa £2,000. At the moment it
>doesnt look great - It needs fencing/trellis both sides to make it private
>and there is too much in there in terms of bushes/trees etc. Can I ask
>whether this investment would pay off in terms of adding value to my
>property i.e would it at least add £2,000 to the valuation?
>
>
Well, as a gardener, I find the concept of 'too much in there in terms
of bushes/trees' hard to get my mind around. If I were a potential
buyer, I'd be put off by an 'instant' minimalist garden - I'd be
comparing it with an equivalent amount of bare space and be estimating
how much it would cost me to remove the decking, excess patio etc.

Otoh, since you are not a gardener, a tidy desert will sell the house
better than a well-planted overgrown jungle.

My advice would be to do whatever you need to make back garden work for
you, at whatever cost is worth it to you, and not to assess in terms of
increased value.

Otoh, if what you are asking us is 'I am about to sell my house and want
to do whatever quick tarting up will increase its value' an estate agent
will probably give better advice.
--
Kay

Ray Mooney wrote:
> I am thinking about having my back garden tidied up and made low
> maintenance. I estimate that this will cost circa £2,000. At the
> moment it doesnt look great - It needs fencing/trellis both sides to
> make it private and there is too much in there in terms of
> bushes/trees etc. Can I ask whether this investment would pay off in
> terms of adding value to my property i.e would it at least add £2,000
> to the valuation?

Depending on location, style and price band, some designers hold that a
"designed" garden adds 5-10% to property values. I think that is too high,
but £2000 should be easily covered. New fences and a space that people want
to be in rather than shut the door on MUST add valu.

pk

In article <_IGdnWzLOdKFFTLZnZ2dnUVZ8qOdnZ2d [at] bt.com>, p.k.
<pgkaddy-groups [at] yahoo.com> writes

>Depending on location, style and price band, some designers hold that a
>"designed" garden adds 5-10% to property values. I think that is too high,
>but £2000 should be easily covered. New fences and a space that people want
>to be in rather than shut the door on MUST add valu.
>
>pk
>
>


Bit worried by the comment the OP made which was that there were "too
many" shrubs " in the garden. Does he mean too many weeds or too
crowded? Minimalist planting doesn't work in some gardens especially if
the house is older . If the plants are interesting ones then it would be
a shame to have a "dig them all up and start again" design, especially
if the OP is looking to move in a year or so's time. (Presumably he does
as he isn't considering the benefits to himself of paying to improve the
garden and it's function?

Janet
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

On 8/7/06 10:22, in article u7ydnX47z_L55DLZnZ2dnUVZ8qednZ2d [at] bt.com, "Ray
Mooney" <r.mooney [at] btinternet.com> wrote:

> I am thinking about having my back garden tidied up and made low
> maintenance. I estimate that this will cost circa £2,000. At the moment it
> doesnt look great - It needs fencing/trellis both sides to make it private
> and there is too much in there in terms of bushes/trees etc. Can I ask
> whether this investment would pay off in terms of adding value to my
> property i.e would it at least add £2,000 to the valuation?
>
>
When are you planning to sell your house? If it's going on the market this
month, probably not. If you're talking about living there for five years
and then moving on, possibly. Certainly, anyone looking at your property or
having it surveyed would be aware that the fences need re-doing and would
probably reduce their offer accordingly. Planting is another matter and is
very personal. Many would-be buyers would like a totally blank canvas,
others would appreciate what estate agents describe in tempting terms as "a
mature garden". If you're going to live in it for yourself for quite a
while, do it to your own taste. If you're going to sell it soon, I'd tidy
up the shrubs with a bit of judicious cutting back, mow the lawn and tidy
the edges of the lawn, too. Nothing makes a garden look presentable faster
than neat grass.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(email address on website)

, mow the lawn and tidy
> the edges of the lawn, too. Nothing makes a garden look presentable
faster
> than neat grass.
> --
> Sacha
> South Devon
> (email address on website)
>

Not toooooooo often that I have to agree with the Sacha, but when we opened
our garden to the public last year, it was quite surprising the number of
people, once over the "Wow" factor, remarked "Oh you have a lawn. So nice to
see a bit of grass after all the hard landscaping, boarding and gravel etc"
:-(((

Mike

--
------------------------------------------------
Royal Naval Electrical Branch Association
www.rnshipmates.co.uk
International Festival of the Sea 28th June - 1st July 2007