Just recently my friend had his house appraised between $800,000 and $815,000 by two different independent house valuators. He spent two days hard work in the garden placing new grass on mats, bringing in new plants, putting creepers on the wall, and adding a water feature. He sold his house at an auction two weeks later for $853,500. It only took him a few hours of his work and a few thousand dollars to make a lot of profit.

Some people however believe that a good garden will only sell the house quicker. It is important however to not over-capitalize your garden. A good rule of thumb is for every dollar you spend you'll get around $1.15 back. This still depends on the quality of the work done. Which is why if you know nothing about landscaping contact your local landscaping designer for help.

You must also think twice before deciding to put a pool into your backyard. In many cases these can be seen as a liability as they may cost several thousand dollars a year to run.

You must also think twice before deciding to put a pool into your backyard. In many cases these can be seen as a liability as they may cost several thousand dollars a year to run.

Here are some easy features you can implement that may increase your houses value:

-Mow your lawn! The most obvious. If your grass is dying plant some new grass or use grass mats.

-If you have a pond or pool make sure it is clean, put in fresh water if you have to. Nothing is more disgusting than having grime floating on your pool or dirty leaves. If you have water plants in your pond make sure they are nice eye catchers, for example colorful lilies.

-Trim your trees and shrubs.

-Get rid of all those weeds.

-Clean any pavement areas.

-Make sure your plants aren't dying, instead colorful and vibrant.

-A hot, put scented plants or shrubs near your windows. This can give the house a very nice smell. Something like lavender.

-Weather protection. Be careful about to not spend too much on this.

On the other hand these may decrease your houses value:

- Adding a pool.

- Unmentioned garden, such as dying plants, weeds etc...

- Lack of weather protection.

- Too much concrete.

- Too much clutter. A garden should be spacious.

- Poor linking between garages, utilities, the pool, and the house.

This article is owned by http://www.use-your-equity.com and written by John Whiteside. Learn more about real estate investing, and how to create and use the equity in your home! The original article can be found at http://www.use-your-equity.com/Landscaping.html