Condo Living

August 2, 2022 Published by Toronto and Area Chapter - By Nathan Helder

Enhancing your Condo's Curb Appeal

From the Summer 2022 issue of CCI Toronto Condovoice Magazine, Volume 26, Issue Number 4

When Several Condominiums are Placed in a Great Neighbourhood, How Does Yours Stand Out?

Location! Location! Location! These are the three top sales points of the real estate market. But when several condominiums are placed in a great neighbourhood, how does yours stand out? One way is to enhance the curb appeal of your condominium.

Although we know location is a huge selling feature, there are three other features that play a large role in attracting the best buyers and renters to your complex.

• Price
• Upgrades
• Landscaping

In this article, we're going to focus on the attractiveness of your complex's exterior when viewed from the street — it's vitally important. Curb appeal is what grabs the buyer's attention before even seeing the unit. Like icing on a cake, when the outside is beautiful and well-maintained, it is likely that the inside is also kept in good shape.

Let's take a look at seven landscaping tips that will address this critical component in marketing & selling your home.

1. Front Entrance
"Walk where the people walk." This means that you need to focus on the driveway entrance to the community. Ask yourself the following questions:

• Are the name and address clearly visible or is it hidden by overgrown shrubbery?
• Is there an entrance sign or is the entrance hard to locate?
• Is it fresh & modern, or old & worn?
• Are there signs that clearly show where the visitor parking is or is it unmarked?
• Are the condo unit numbers visible, or do you need to look hard to spot them?

In a large complex, effective signage coupled with clearly numbered units will help visitors and potential buyers locate the different addresses easily and make units more accessible in emergency situations.

2. Common Sidewalks
Are the sidewalks level and wide, or are they a potential tripping hazard with uneven, cracked or overgrown turf? Are the sidewalks free of snow & ice?

Ensure that your walks are obstacle-free.

3. Colour and Decoration
Plant colourful annuals and/or perennials in the front garden beds, along walkways and driveway entrances. The addition of colourful urns at the front foyer entrance will make a welcoming statement. During the winter months, ornamental and decorative displays can be added to replace summer flowers.

4. Shrubs and Garden Beds
At certain times of the year, communities can become tired-looking and in need of a face-lift in the garden to create a fresh, clean look. A rejuvenation may be needed, including:

• Cutting back overgrown and overhanging trees
• Removing damaged, diseased or dying plants and trees
• Cutting in fresh garden edges
• Removing weeds and adding shredded pine bark mulch

5. Lighting
For most communities, security and personal safety are very important. How effective is your current outdoor lighting?

• Is the parking lot well-lit at night, or are the trees and shrubs blocking streetlamps?
• Are the unit owners uncomfortable to walk outside due to lack of lighting around the sidewalks and driveways?

Adding landscape lighting or light fixtures along common sidewalks will help to make your condominium complex welcoming and inviting as well as safer.

6. Turf Enhancements
Since the Ontario pesticide ban was put in place, what proactive measures have the corporation undertaken to keep the turf weed-free?

Consider practices such as core aeration, topdressing and seeding. Does consideration need to be made with regards to removing turf and replacing the area with a featured garden or replace turf around the trees with mulch? Should the corporation install a SMART irrigation system to property protect the turf and gardens?

7. Community Gardens
If you live in an apartment or condo, is there a way for you to have your own garden? In recent years, people across Canada and around the world have banded together to create community gardens. Community gardens have been shown to:

• Foster relationships within communities
• Provide low-cost food
• Improve the psychological health of those involved
• Create much needed green space
• Encourage physical activity

Do what you can to make your condominium complex the most attractive and appealing to not only the condominium owners already living there but also for those who are looking for a new home.

These seven landscaping tips will assist in marketing your condominium as the one everyone admires and would be happy to call home.