Brooklyn Real Estate Q&A and Info

If you want to sell your Brooklyn house as quickly as possible and for the best possible price, your home must make a good first impression.  One of the things that can make or break that first impression (or curb appeal), is your lawn. 

Nothing says “neglected house” like an ugly lawn that’s full of weeds and bare patches.  Here are few tips that you can use to get your lawn in tip top shape and greatly improve your Brooklyn home’s curb appeal.

1. Clean Up Your Lawn - Take some time to rake up any leaves, dead branches and other debris.
2. Check for Compacted Soil – Look for areas in your lawn where there is standing water that doesn’t drain or areas where the soil looks hard.   Use the screwdriver test.  If you can’t easily push a screwdriver into the soil, its compacted.
3. Aerate Your Lawn – Lawn aeration is the process of reducing soil compaction by punching holes in the soil either with a hand tool, a pair of spiked aerator shoes, or a mechanical aerator.    Aeration helps your lawn by increasing oxygen in the soil, which stimulates root growth and helps fertilizer get down to grass roots.
4. Repair – Fill holes with quality topsoil and add grass seeds. Cover the area where you’ve newly added grass seeds with a thin layer of straw.  The straw will protect the grass seeds from birds, and help keep the soil from drying out which creates a hostile place for seeds to try and grow, and it prevent the seeds from being washed away with the rain.
5. Hydrate - It’s been recommended that you water your lawn irregularly, rather than on a strict schedule.  Irregular, when necessary, watering replicates natural weather patterns and makes your lawn more drought-tolerant.  
6. Mow – Always mow when the grass is dry and the blades are upright. Never cut more than 1/3 of the grass blade length at any one time. Grass needs the surface area of the blade to stay healthy. Try to change the mowing pattern periodically. Grass develops a grain based on the direction it is cut. Alternating the pattern will result in an upright growth pattern. Leave grass clippings on the lawn so nutrients and nitrogen are redeposited into the soil.

These methods for improving your lawn takes time.  If you need to get your lawn looking its best in a hurry, consider have new sod laid down.