"The outside of a property," says Ray Dimarco, TAFE NSW Property Services head teacher, "is literally the first impression, and most lasting memory."

Ray, pictured, who is also a property valuer and real estate agent with over 40 years of experience, says fresh or well-maintained lawns are simply always attractive.

“Also a neatly and freshly mulched garden-bed is an incredibly low-cost but high-impact way of presenting your home as loved and loveable.”

We hit up TAFE NSW Agriculture and Horticulture head teacher, Geoff Turner (he's the guy in the hat) to give us eight great tips for preparing a property to be more appealing to prospective buyers as we move towards the end of summer:

1. Address lawn areas that need attention: You can aerate your lawn, fertilise it and water it with recycled water, which will make a big difference to growth.
2. Keep tabs on current trends: Look at current trends and how some people are now looking more towards succulent plants that are low maintenance and require a low amount of water. They’re quite trendy at the moment.
3. Use plants to solve problem areas: Fix your shortfalls such as overlooking neighbours or busy roads by planting-out your gardens with trees or shrubbery that will grow to provide a screen and privacy.
4. Re-mulch the garden: Adding new mulch is aesthetically pleasing and good for retaining moisture in the soil during drought periods.
5. Keep it modern: Are plants getting old and woody? It might be a good idea to replant to suit the style of this time and period to make things more appealing.
6. Remove any dead flowers and branches. Some species will shed limbs during dry periods to conserve moisture.
7. Set your lawn mower to a higher setting. Keeping your grass longer makes it look lush and healthy and protects soil from the summer sun.
8. Tidy up. Remove any unwanted shrubbery and trees that might be hiding features of the property.

“When watering your garden, use recycled water," says Geoff. "Please keep in mind we are in the midst of summer and we are experiencing extremes in temperatures , it’s more important than ever that everyone helps preserve our most precious resource no matter where you live, in Bondi or Broken Hill, Bega."

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