When you’re selling your home, you want prospective buyers to imagine themselves living there. That’s why the experts have been saying for years that an uncluttered, stylishly furnished property shows well because it gives the visitor an insight into their idealised home. And it’s why the smell of freshly baked bread or cookies can evoke thoughts of domestic bliss.
In the same vein, trees in your garden can help your potential buyer to imagine what life would be like living there – having a drink in the shade on a warm summer’s evening or watching the kids climbing and swinging from the wide branches. Trees, healthy trees, can give people a sense of home and that’s what you want a buyer to be thinking when they start talking numbers with your agent.
To ensure your trees are helping you to make the right impression, here are a few things that our tree services in Barnet could help you with.
Health and well-being
Weak or sickly trees do not sell properties, they scream of additional costs once the buyer has moved in and could even be a reason for them to negotiate harder to reduce the price they’re prepared to pay. So, it’s worth ensuring that your trees are maintained properly over the years.
There’s also the consideration of whether you’re passing on a garden that’s safe. When stormy weather comes, weak or weighty branches may break, and if the tree base and root system is eroded or damaged, the whole tree may fall.
Giving your trees a check-up before you put your property on the market may help you to avoid such problems later on.
Location, location, location
You may love that you can look outside your kitchen window and get a close up of sparrows enjoying the food you’ve put out, but trees near buildings today might possibly cause problems tomorrow. Tree roots spread and have the potential to disturb paths, foundations and driveways as they burrow underground.
The same goes for your neighbour’s trees – roots have no concept of boundary lines and may spread towards your property.
A tree surgeon will be able to tell you how much and how quickly a tree will grow as this is dependent on many factors, including species, soil and location. If your property is near trees that could cause issues in the future, you can be sure that your prospective buyer will use this as another reason to negotiate hard.
However, if you have a recent survey confirming that the trees surrounding your property are not going to damage it in any way for the foreseeable future then you can counter such arguments and stave off such negotiation tactics.
The right paperwork to help you sell
A good tree surgeon can give you:
- A report on the trees around the home you’re thinking of buying so you can fully appreciate the costs involved in maintenance or potential for property damage and these could be used in your negotiations
- An estimate of the costs involved in any remedial work which your buyer may need to undertake in order to make your trees safe, should any work be needed at all
- A tree management plan, so you can give your buyer an idea of how to look after the trees in the future, as well as the costs involved
- Schedules and costs for hedging maintenance
- Advice on which trees would most suit the property should they wish to add trees to the garden
- A check on whether any trees on the property are covered by a Tree Preservation Order and advice on your legal obligations if they are
If you would like any help preparing your trees, or reports on your trees, for the sale of your home, or would like the trees around the property you’re hoping to move to reviewed so you know what costs and risks you might be letting yourself in for, call us on 0208 292 8992. We’re always happy to pop round to offer our advice.
