When gardening gets expensive

Two-thirds of Brits (67 per cent) would be put off buying or renting a potential property if it had an unattractive garden, according to research.

The survey, commissioned by multimedia retailer QVC, quizzed more than 2,000 British homeowners on the state of their gardens, revealing that 61 per cent of Brits would not be prepared to pay as much for a house with an unattractive garden.

Half of those surveyed (48 per cent) would expect to be able to negotiate at least 50 per month off the cost of a rental property, while 45 per cent would anticipate a drop of at least 5,000 on a house purchase to compensate for an untidy garden.

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First impressions are very important when selling or renting a property – 55 per cent of home buyers rated the state of a prospective property's garden to be as important as the inside of the house, with 71 per cent revealing that they are more likely to notice and be put off by an unkempt garden than low level damp (57 per cent) or peeling paintwork on window sills (69 per cent).

However, many homeowners are not tending to their gardens regularly, with 71 per cent admitting they do not weed and 45 per cent revealing that they do not grow any plants or flowers. In fact, two-fifths (41 per cent) admit to spending absolutely no time gardening at all.

Junk in the garden such as old fridges, mattresses and toys (71 per cent) topped a list of the thornier issues when it comes to top garden turn-offs, with animal faeces in lawns, patios and beds (63 per cent) and overflowing rubbish bins (54 per cent) coming in second and third place.

Monstrous unruly trees were also pretty unpopular (41 per cent).

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QVC's Richard Jackson said: "There's no excuse for allowing your garden to become unruly, especially when it comes to selling your home.

"Simple and inexpensive maintenance and weeding, plus the addition of a few colourful plants and flowers, make all the difference and could save you thousands of pounds."

YP MAG 26/6/10