Will I get my money back? This is the unspoken question that anyone buying home improvement, or in our case, landscaping, almost never asks. Especially on a large job, if the client doesn’t ask aloud, the vibes are strong enough to almost create sound waves anyway. While this is not true of dresses, gasoline or hamburgers (or organic, whole grain sandwiches for that matter), it is part of the home improvement equation almost as much as buying the house itself. It’s a good question since the landscape becomes part of the home.
The salesman type person you are talking to might glibly smile and nod knowingly in a way that as much as promises five figure profits in no time. The guy that has been in construction all his life might shrug and say, “I have no idea, lady. Where do you want the barbeque built?”
The truth is that there are two factors. You have limited control over the first one. It is the overall market, itself. We have done gorgeous landscapes that have made houses easier to sell in tough market conditions. In a buyer’s market, you have to outshine the competition a lot more than usual and in the matter of getting a buyer to fall in love, it can be a big help. In the matter of getting your money back, it depends on how well the money is spent and that brings us to the second factor.
What you get for your money. Money experts have stated that landscaping is among the best potential home improvement investments in California since the patio and entertainment parts are extra living space with our climate and the plant parts of it literally can grow more value over time. However, someone could use the same twelve tons of stone and concrete, ninety trees and shrubs and various assortments of light fixtures, etc. and create something that people stop their cars to take pictures of or something that makes you wonder how much a demolition crew costs.
It’s kind of like hiring a car designer and the factory workers yourself to get that new sports car you always wanted. In looking it over I see three main ingredients in the factory you hire. They are Design, Capability and Honesty. The design is what they are going to do with their twelve tons of stone, etc. Capability is how good the design actually comes out in real life and honesty is really giving you all that you paid for.
How do you get all three? I recommend going to look at what they have already done. Talk to their other clients, both from years before and recently. Go look at some of the projects and see what you think. If it looks great after three or four years, it was probably done right. If the current client is happy, then the company is still on track. If you love what you see, then the factory workers and the designer will probably be able to give you the sports car you always wanted. And if people are stopping to take pictures of your yard it is a good bet that you will get your money back if you ever sell and maybe even that five figure profit once it’s all grown in.
Bruce Larsen is the president of Larsen Landscape Construction & Design, Inc. He and his wife, Debbie, have been designing and building landscapes in the Los Angeles and Ventura County areas for 25 years.
800.805.LAWN (5296)
www.larsenlandscape.com
Tags: Bruce Larsen, increasing property value, landscape design, Landscape Design Simi Valley California, larsen landscape and design, Larsen Landscaping, Lawn Care, real estate values
