Here's 10 great reasons to start thinking about your Curb Appeal now, and what you can do to save hundreds, even thousands of dollars on your Spring project today!
1. Contractors, Craftsmen, Landscapers, and Laborers all feel the holiday pinch this time of year. Jobs always dwindle for these hardworking folks in the fall and winter. That means quotes will be leaner as competition gets stiffer. Scheduling any work that fall into these fields of expertise now could really free up your budget to include more than you thought you could afford to have done. Call on these good people NOW, and you'll have more $$ to work with. Stretch that contractor budget to it's MAXIMUM CAPACITY!
2. NOW is the proper time to fertilize your grass and feed your perennials one more time before they go dormant for the winter. One afternoon dose-ing your lawn, shrubs, and flowers on a single crisp fall day will allow you months of longer-performing, healthier plants for months in the Spring and Summer growing season.
3. Pruning trees & shrubs now will also go a long way to improve the overall appearance and health of your existing greenery. Removing unnecessary branches and leaves in the Fall allows the plant to concentrate it's nutrients on the remaining branches, allowing for a more lush look in the Spring - and pruning is FREE... if you do it yourself!
]4. Ever been to the nursery in the fallthis time of year? They are GIVING away plants- really good plants, too. They may need a bit of winter TLC, but you can easily find a $79.99 starter wisteria for $only 29.99, sometimes in a decorative pot, too. Take advantage of the bargains, and "baby" them a bit through until Spring, and you'll be rewarded with a beautiful plant, and a job well done, as well as saving a TON off your landscaping costs. THe plants you were going to buy in the spring had to be babied by someone, so it's not like you are buying "old" plants. You are just doing the babying, and saving HUNDREDS in the process!
5. Time is on your side - so look NOW for patio sets, water features, automated watering systems, door mats, door bells, and flowerbed edging! A deal is only a deal if you can take time to shop around. So do your comparison shopping, so you'll know a good price when you see one, and then buy all sorts of things you'd be paying for at a MUCH higher price in the Spring.
6. It's a great time to do minor DIY repairs - fixing the window caulk, replacing the weather stripping around the doors, swapping out a beat up threshold for a nice new one, or replacing a cracked piece of window glass... start ticking off your "honey-do" list now and maybe save a buck or two on your energy bill in the process!
7. While you are plotting out where to diplay your exterior holiday finery to it's utmost, go check out www.RoofReviver.com. They have an excellent D-I-Y solution to get that black streaky smut off your roof for less than $100, no scubbing, nor even bending! It will shave YEARS off your homes appearance, and it leaves your roof not only clean, but protected!
8. Give even the littlest kids something fun to do... and save even MORE money! Consider helping the kids have an interesting winter activity by starting some seeds in paper cups for a few cents rather than buying 20 filler plants or color plants for $17.99 a pop!
9. And don't forget the older ones! Spend some quality time with your teen and help them build a garden bench, flower boxes, a couple of pair of mock (non-operable) shutters or an entire picnic dining set.
10. And our most important time-saving, cost-saving tip of all...
Take advantage of the 10% Fall & Winter discount off the our exclusive Curb Appeal Strategy Package- a 12+ page assessment of your property's "appeal" , including specific advice with precise remedies for creating cohesion & balance. You'll not only get our best customized advice, you'll get a suggested color palette with LARGE paint chips and a cutting edge conceptual image of what your house will look like if you take our advice and execute the plan. Call us and order yours today! ONLY $159.99! Don't forget to ask for your 10% Off-Season Smarty-Pants Discount
Best of Skill to you!
Michelle Molinari
Certified Staging Professional, Feature This... Real Estate Staging,www.FeatureThisDotDotDot.com
13 Comments
on Why are you Googling Curb Appeal Out of Season???!!!
SEP
12
2009
Michelle - very good points...I had never thought of suggesting to homeowners that they start their spring curb appeal projects in the fall! But it really does make sense. Thanks for the info.
This time of year I stock up on all sorts of things in the Garden Department!
I've been lusting after a really pretty dark wicker-esque patio set at Lowe's ALL SUMMER. I refused fork out $1600 for plastic wicker, but I DID fork over $499 for all five pieces last week.
I stalked that set for months and saved $1100 buying it out-of-season. Not to mention all those gorgeous, humongous urns that cost $250 bucks coming down to $65 at the fancy-schmancy nursery downtown.
Thanks Ladies! I am always pleased to see, when I check my website stats, that upwards of 40 folks a day are still googling the words 'curb appeal" and finding CurbAppealforDummies.com.
There is SO MUCH that can be done, acquired, and shopped for in preparation for Spring's arrival. So many cost-saving opportunities are happening for homeowners right now. I encourage them to snap them all up while they can.
You're absolutely right, especially when it comes to plants, here they have slashed foliage by 70% and more at the larger nurseries. Our season is semi-tropical and we usually don't get above freezing this close to the Gulf. So as far as for the Houston area by all means plant away, they will grow all season here! Another great post!
Cindy - Yep! Landscaping can be so expensive, even for a small area. You just have to do what you can to wring all the value you can out of that budget, and buying now, and repotting, a little miracle grow and a warm place against or inside in your house can easily allow you to buy get 70% more out of your budget!
I'm in the same planting zone you are, albeit we are 250 miles apart. It is nice to have living plants all season. Even annuals last years sometimes.
Lori Kim - By all means, YES! And congrats on becoming an AR Ambassador - so exciting!
I just had a client from Houston call me and thank me for helping her out. She got $300 worth of plants last weekend for $100, and the nursery guy told her this was the perfect time to plant them.
She also got a $550 door for $419.
Deals are everywhere on Curb Appeal necessities in the fall!
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Take advantage of the 10% Fall & Winter discount off the our exclusive 
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Michelle - very good points...I had never thought of suggesting to homeowners that they start their spring curb appeal projects in the fall! But it really does make sense. Thanks for the info.