Decks......An Extension of Your Home

Did you know that your patio is an extension of your Omaha home?  Even though we can't count it as actual square footage, it is a livable space.  So it only makes sense that what we've applied to the interior of the house needs to be carried outside to the deck and backyard.

1.  Sometimes decks/patios become a "catch all" for toys, garden tools, broken patio furniture, dirty grills, etc.  Like any other room in your home, you need to de-clutter your deck/patio.






2. With good intentions and a love of flowers, we are often guilty of too many potted plants on a porch or patio.  Then they start dying (at least
mine do) and flowers start dropping off.  Then those flowers don't get picked up and it leaves a stain.  Besides all of this, too many flower pots is clutter and feels crowded.  Give some of your plants away to friends, or Aunt Harriet.  Keep only a few of your favorites to help you in staging your patio.  Plants are difficult to move and impossible to move if you're moving any long distance. Find them a good home.

3.  Your backyard needs to be well groomed and cared for.  Keep grass cut and trimmed.  If there are bare spots in your grass, either plant seed or replace the spot with sod.  In the hot summer, keep your grass properly watered.  Dead grass is a real turn off.

4.  Please, please, please.......take care of Fido's "business".  We bought our current home in the winter when there was snow cover.  After the snow thawed, we picked up close to 20 plastic grocery bags full of the "Biz"! I'm not even kidding!  No one wants to have to do that.  Let alone new homeowners!  Buyers want to walk around in your backyard and they would prefer not to have to dodge "doggy-land mines".  Please pick up after your dog on a regular basis.

5.  If the weather permits, stage your picnic table with dishes, napkins, silverware, fresh flowers, etc.  Make it look like a cook-out waiting to happen.  Be sure that your patio furniture is clean and the chair pads are clean & not ripped.  Even though your Buyers aren't buying your furniture, it will still give your deck an overall feeling of being cared for.

6.  If your decking has faded and needs to be re-stained, get to it. Stain is very thin & runny.  Take care when applying by using drop clothes.  Probably not the best job for your little ones.  If you have a patio and the concrete is cracked in any way, repair it or replace it if the damage is too bad.  It will come up in a home inspection.  If it is winter when your house is on the market, remove any snow from your deck and/or patio.

                

Your backyard  and patio or deck can become an oasis for you & your Buyers.  Staging this area is just as important as staging any other part of your house. Don't forget to clean it up and stage it!