What's the 1st thing you can do to improve your property value?

Get dirty!  Dig in the dirt and plant... plant trees, plant bushes, plant privacy.   ROI from planting when you first move in can be ludicrous  Better still, it makes your home more appealing.  Not withstanding the dollars, in this market your home MUST be appealing.   If you can see your neighbors from every window in your home, then I would not consider that a positive.  (I guess that all depends on who lives next door, but I'm just sayin'.)  When it's time to sell your home, you can easily paint the walls the day before the sign goes in the lawn, but a tree or hedgerow will take years to grow.  All that being said, please consider the full grown circumference of a tree top when making decisions as to where to plant your trees, otherwise you'll be chopping them down before they serve their purpose.  A community college course in landscaping will do the trick, and it's an inexpensive way to plan your whole lot inexpensively.  Good Luck! and happy digging.