Yard Tips
When you buy a home, you’re making a long-term investment. Most people are likely to remain in a home for anywhere from 5 to 20 years, and some people stay longer. So when you’re thinking about whether a home meets your needs, you have to not only consider today, but to consider your future plans. This is true both inside and out. Your yard is almost as important as the home itself. Is it big enough for what you might want to do with it? Is there a homeowners’ association that can limit what you can do with your yard? Consider your future when you’re home-shopping, and ask yourself what you can do with your yard.
Consider Future Landscaping Projects
Have you always wanted a deck overlooking a restful koi pond in your back yard? A rock garden? Want to watch a beautiful tree grow from a sapling to a majestic size? Ask yourself whether the yard you’re considering supports your landscape projects – and whether you live in an area governed by a homeowners’ association that can limit what you can do. Given the length of time most people spend in a house, your “someday” landscaping projects will probably happen right where you’re buying. Think about that when you do.
Consider Kids or Pets in Your Household
Have you discussed having children? Or have an infant now that’s quickly growing into a child who might want a swingset, a slide, a treehouse or some other backyard play area? Ask yourself if the yard has space, and if you can safely enclose it for your child. Also, again, you’ve got to ask the question about whether a homeowners’ association will restrict what you can do.
The same thing goes for pets; do you have dogs right now, or think you might want to add one or more in a future? Does your new yard have a fence, or can you add one? If there’s an existing fence, is it safe enough to contain your pets? Don’t just think about your current yard needs when you buy; consider the future, and how your family might expand.
