SHINING THE LIGHT ON … YOUR PROPERTY

With each passing day it's getting darker earlier and the landscape of fall learning and working may be an 'at-home' game plan. More households will have 2 or 3 generations living and working under the same roof, while craving outdoor space and privacy.

The pandemic has forced many of us to cancel plans and place our lives on hold. Celebrations, birthdays, and sadly even funerals, have been limited to a handful of people in some situations. Home has become the epicenter of everything that happens.

The quarantine has also brought some opportunities … this may be the perfect time to move, if you’ve been thinking of selling your home in the suburbs. Families are leaving various metro area cities, looking for more space that includes outdoor areas they can enjoy, in an effort to avoid crowds and maintain social distancing. Your yard, deck, patio, or just a nice patch of grass may be a key attraction to people who have been cooped up in small apartments and craving fresh air, swings, barbecues, fire pits and night time fun.

Daytime is only one time to show off your outdoor areas to live house hunters. But remember, the right buyer might pass by your house at night! Connect your indoor and outside lights to a timer and that’ll be one less thing to remember every evening. Make sure all of the bulbs are functioning and be ready to take photos at dusk.

Lavish or modest, sellers at all points on the budget spectrum are enhancing their outdoor space with lighting, and Realtors are capturing the results in photos and videos enticing buyers to see YOUR home first. Make sure your listing includes not only daytime shots but sunset and nighttime photos and videos.

In a May 5, 2020 article, CreativeNightscapes suggests:

· Mount lights high enough to capture large portions of your yard and light your trees

· Lighting that shows off unique trees on your property, water features, statues, sculptures

· Standing lights alongside path lights that illuminate your beautiful smaller shrubs, flowers, steps and walkways

Does it seem like you’re investing so much money on fixing things up when you’re not even planning to stay in your home? Don't want to break the bank?

· Solar lights are an option. Pathway lights that hang from a hook or stake into the ground. Flat lights placed directly on stairs.

We love to #ShopLocal (the hardware stores sell many options) or online.

· For a festive look perfect for socially-distant entertaining, plug in an outdoor extension cord and string incandescent lights in 25-foot strips.

 Hang along the back of your house, or in a square around a patio, or added to the top of deck railings.

· Umbrella lights can spin up the pole from the table or the ground and make your dining area sparkle. You can use batteries or have a plug installed nearby.

· Fire pits … footlights … candles … tiki torches all light up the night!

CreativeNightscapes points out an added benefit of porch lights, path lights, and motion sensor lights: “Nothing beats the feeling of safety and security for a new [homeowner] family.”