One of the biggest first impressions left on potential tenants looking to <href=”http://www.baymgmtgroup.com/property-management-montgomery-county/”>rent your Montgomery County home is the outside curb appeal.
Think about it. When someone pulls up to your highly sought after Potomac property, located in an exclusive, beautiful, and well-maintained community, tenants expect the same to be true of your rental home’s landscaping.
The problem is, many landlords are inexperienced in the field of long-term landscaping, tend to waste a ton of resources creating a beautiful springtime yard (often forgetting that the Maryland winter will soon arrive), and end up with a dead, pathetic looking landscaping mess within just a couple of years. This causes more time and money to be invested into redoing the home’s landscaping and the cycle begins all over again.
Today we will look at some of the ways in which you can easily maintain a great looking yard over the seasonal changes that places such as Rockville experience, without straining your budget.
The Importance of Having a Landscaping Plan
When you first purchase an investment property in a place such as Bethesda, Maryland, it is pretty easy to create a lush and beautiful landscaping masterpiece. Everything is new and full of life. The flowers are in full bloom, the grass is tall and green, and the trees are rooted in the ground and ready to make their ascent into the sky over the years.
But did you really think about what you planted in your yard?
As a result of time, the changing environment, and maintenance (or lack thereof), you beautiful yard is vulnerable to the harsh reality of the outside world. That is why developing a landscaping plan before you take charge on your rental home’s curb appeal is sometimes more important than the actual yard itself.
Rather than having to re-landscape every time the weather damages your landscaping, adopt a long-term landscaping plan that will weather the environment and only require minor, low-cost adjustments as time goes on.
It is also wise to consider the fact that other people will be in charge of caring for your investment property’s landscaping, unless you plan to employ a full-time maintenance crew to manage that for your tenants (and kudos to you if you do!). However, if you are the average landlord who simply leases a property out for supplemental income to make a living, you may not want to put all of your trust into your tenants to take care of the rare Chocolate Cosmo you thought would be cool to put near you front yard’s walkway.
Basic Long-Term Landscaping Tips
Here is a list of some of the best tips that either you, your landscaping company, or even your tenants can handle during the changing seasons Maryland brings its residents every year.
1. Envision the Future
Before tenants move into your rental home, and as you plan your landscaping ideas, think about what the future holds for each shrub or tree you are planting.
How big will they grow year after year? What resources will they need to sustain life? How will each plant or tree affect other plants or trees planted nearby?
Be wary of overcrowding because plants will develop disease and die off, will fight for things such as sun and water, and may not survive when competing with other nearby foliage.
2. Prep Greenery for the Cold
The dormant times for plants and trees are the perfect time for you to prepare for next year’s warmer months.
- Mow one last time before the winter snow hits to prevent matting and damage to your grassy yard.
- Keep all leaves off of the ground, collecting them every few days. This way the grass underneath is not prevented from receiving proper sunlight and will have a better chance of surviving the winter frost.
- If your grass is patchy when autumn hits, take this time to install or reseed so the grass is ready come springtime.
- Trim your perennials and small shrubs so that they can have extra energy to survive the cold months and wake up refreshed in the spring.
- Mulch the ground before it freezes so your plants and trees have extra ground warmth for when the snow comes.
3. Don’t Forget Non-Plant Landscape Items
During the winter months it is essential you winterize your watering systems and landscaping tools to prevent freezing and damage.
Turn off and cover all water spigots, watch for frozen pipes and insulate them if necessary, store your lawnmower and other landscaping tools appropriately, and watch brick or sidewalk walkways for shifts in layout due to changing temperatures and humidity.
4. About That Pool or Hot Tub
Making sure your tenants understand their maintenance responsibilities when it comes to your Gaithersburg rental home is important and includes things such as pools and hot tubs.
Having a professional winterize your pool is probably a wise choice, but year-long maintenance is a must and should be a part of the lease agreement.
If not handled correctly by your tenants because you failed to instruct them how to do so properly, you might face a costly bill should repairs be required.
Maryland Long-Term Landscaping Options
Aside from the necessary steps to maintaining year-long landscaping success that are mainly based around the winter months, there are some other options that have nothing to do with season, and everything to do with region.
Container Landscaping
Many perennials and shrubs can last for years in Maryland living in containers of all sizes. With the creative advantage potted plants offer your rental home, paired with the ease of care, you may want to consider incorporating container landscaping into your Chevy Chase landscaping plan.
Although potted plants must rely on you (or your tenants) for water and nutrients, you drastically reduce the amount of time and money spent on caring for them in the long run, they can be re-designed easily and on a low budget, and they live for longer periods of time.
Use Native Plants
Utilizing native plants to Montgomery County regions such as Silver Spring are a great option when it comes to landscaping your rental property’s yards:
- They are naturally adapted to the local environment
- They are often more disease resistant than non-natives
- They serve as attractive landscaping options, offering color and variety
- The provide food and shelter for wildlife such as bees
Due to Maryland’s diverse geography and climate, there are many choices when it comes to which native plants you can use in your yard.
Final Thoughts
In the end, it is not just what you do during the changing seasons that matter when it comes to creating a long-lasting landscaped yard for your rental property. Luckily, there are some very efficient and low cost options for creating a great looking area that your tenants will be impressed with from the moment they pull up.
Most long-term landscaping is easily achieved with a little planning on your part.
By preparing your yard with native plants that are acclimated to the region your property is located in, properly winterizing your foliage to survive the sometimes harsh Maryland winters, and keeping in mind that time and money play a large role in your property’s curb appeal, you will have a great looking yard for your potential tenants to enjoy and not a lot of work to do maintaining it.
Additionally, using your favorite Montgomery Count property management group to keep tabs on how your landscape is being cared for by your tenants will ease your mind and save you money. With routine inspections, a thorough lease agreement outlining tenant maintenance responsibilities, and proper use of security deposit money, Bay Management Group can guarantee your property will be well cared for.
