I live in a home that is about 1,200 square feet 2 Bed/1 Bath on a spacious city lot. There is absolutely nothing in the back yard, very plain and boring. I would love to decorate it adding greenery a patio etc to give it a warm lovely effect. I plan on living here less than 8 years. I live in Fresno, CA. I think my home is worth about 140,000. Other homes on this street are luckily worth more than mine (comps say 170 and I know how prices are fluctuating) so I have the advantage of catching up to their value, but I want to spend wisely..

So whats your opinion on landscaping for the back yard?? There is a chance we may add a small pool in `09.... Im young and want to spend money in areas where I will get a return.

The price on the home was a total steal so im not too worried about loosing money at this point. With a lot of luck, Iv`e already made a huge profit.

Thanks!

I would not put too much money in real estate, nor in the capital improvement at this time. If you read the financial news on Wall Street Journal, or, N.Y.Times, you should find the nation is on the border of recession. There are 10 worst real estate property state/areas, you can look at it right on the Yahoo Headline. For a back yard, plant some flowers, not do major jobs! Proceed with caution!

id say 1 trillion dollars. the more the better. dont spend any money until the economy recovers, because if you do then you just invested in the downfall of house prices. meaning your house would be cheaper over time if the economy doesnt recover. and wasting all that money was a waste because it loses its value with the house.

Landscaping will add value to your home. If you do not know much about landscaping take photos of your yard and take them into a local independently owned garden center (so not a home depot or wal-mart) they can give you ideas on what to do and what it will cost. Many have design services that will design a plan for free if you buy your plants there. That way you can do the project at your own pace or hire someone to do it for you. I would start with big items first such as trees and shrubs.

Not too long ago I heard an agent say that a pool is a turn off to lots of buyers, that there is no return on your money by installing one. One reason is because of children, two is the upkeep. Check with a real estate agent before putting a pool in if you want to get a good price for your house. As for me, I would not buy a home with a pool. The yard means more to me than swimming.

Agents all say that the money makers are updated kitchens and bathrooms.

If you can connect a nice bathroom to the master bedroom you will make the BIG bucks.

Check your yellow pages in your telephone book and get two or three estimates from professional landscapers. Most of the time they will give you a free estimate.

I would not tie much money up at this time, due to the fact we are in a slight recession which is going to get worse,before it gets better

Landscaping in the back of the house will add almost nothing to the value of your house. The main selling points on a house are curb appeal, and updated kitchens, and bathrooms. So whatever money you were planning for the back I would suggest putting into those areas if you want better value.

We just sold a house with a pool, it doesn't add anything and reduces the pool (no pun intended!) of buyers. That being said, you can add landscaping in the back yard fast and expensive or slow and cheap! In other words, you can pay someone to come out and landscape for you with large, more mature plants but it will be expensive or you can do everything yourself with younger (smaller) plants which will take more time to grow into the space. You can check with a local realtor, but you likely will not get a lot of additional $$ when you sell because you have landscaped, but it could be the difference in how quickly your house sells.