The Landscape Investment

Smart Money magazine published a special report in its March 2003 issue entitled “Add 15 Percent to Your Home’s Value.” The magazine told its readers, “One of your greatest assets may be your own backyard, literally. As the housing market turns softer, Americans are realizing that one of the best ways to increase a home’s resale value is to revamp the landscape.”

This is especially true today. In a downed real estate market, a fresh landscape in front of a home will draw interest to the “For Sale” sign in the yard and a desired lifestyle in the back can close the deal. There are many reasons why people refresh their landscaping, selling a home is only one. The ones who get the most out of this great investment are the ones who enjoy it for years before they sell.

Landscaping: Realizing the Full Potential Value

When you think of “Landscaping” what comes to your mind? Flowers, trees, palms, shrubs, lots of grass …a lawn mower or weed eater? Maybe it’s time to look at landscaping your home differently. A professionally designed, prepared, and installed and landscape using quality plant and other material is not only a work of art but it is also a real estate investment. An investment that adds value to any property be it a home, office, hotel or a commercial building.

But any way you look at it, landscaping + property = added value is the formula for success that no other home improvement has to this degree.

Securing Your Money: Decline of the US Dollar

According to the Washington Post, the U.S. dollar has taken a sharp decline, down 18 percent against the euro in the past 12 months, and more than 40 percent against the South African rand and Australian dollar. Printing money and adopting near-zero interest rates, to jump-start the economy, U.S. officials have effectively diluted its value. With no end in sight, people are seeking ways to secure their savings in safe avenues like gold and real estate. The past few years have proven well for gold investors and even though the real estate market is down right now, it will at some point come back. Unlike the dollar, real estate is tied to tangible property (land) that can’t just be printed on demand.

Securing earnings in real estate has been a great investment in the past and will continue to be in the future. This time fueled by lower interest rates and a falling US dollar, we may see a surge of foreign investors. If you are selling a home or place of business, consider this: Europeans prize their gardens.