Focus Magazine of SWFL Swimsuit Heat Wave | Page 92
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FAMILY FEATURES
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Attracting Attention Outside
t takes seconds to form a first impres ion. Ask yourself this — what kind of
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first impression is your home makng? Is your yard helping or hurting you in
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getting top dollar this home buying season?
The majority of homeowners (71 per ent) agreed that curb appeal is important in
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choosing their home, according to the new TruGreen Home Features Report conducted
by the National Association of REALTORS®. Most of the homeowners surveyed reported
purchasing a home with a healthy, green lawn (71 percent) and well-maintained
landscaping (72 percent).
Healthy lawns can drive up home values. In TruGreen’s new Lawn Life tyles National
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Survey of America, using the field services of ORC International (Opinion Research
Corporation), 79 percent of home wners reported, “having a healthy, green lawn
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contributes to the overall value of a home.” In fact, 53 percent of those surveyed said,
“the quality of the home wner’s lawn can tell you a lot about the quality of the home
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overall.”
“If your home is on the market, you should know that curb appeal, or that initial
feeling homeowners get when looking at the outside of a home, is important when
choosng the right home to buy,” said Jason Cameron, a licensed contractor and televi
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sion host.
Cameron and TruGreen have teamed up to provide helpful tips for achieving a
beautiul, lush lawn and enhanced curb appeal.
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9
2 FOCUS of SWFL 2014
Take as much time as necessary (and as
little money as possible) to maximize your
home’s exterior appeal:
* Dress up the front door with a new welcome
mat or potted plants.
* Clean up the front and back yards by
removing any toys, decorations, debris or
broken tree limbs.
* Sharpen the mower blade for a cleaner cut
and better looking lawn to help get top dollar
when selling your home.
* Closely inspect the hardware around your
house. Things like doorbells, house numbers,
guttering and mail oxes should be in good
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repair and have a fresh coat of paint.
* Add or update landscape lighting
and consider easy-to-install solar options.
In addition to providing safety and security,
lighting can add attractive accents to walking
paths and plantings.
* Punch up your landscape with color. Remove
any dead or withered plants and fill in bare
spots with large, blooming annuals.
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* Make sure the driveway and side alks are
free of cracks or crumbling concrete.
* Nothing makes an older house look new
again like a fresh coat of paint. Repair any
rotting wood, caulk windows, spruce up wood
trim and then update the color of your home.