I would tidy up (trim the bushes/tree limbs, pull weeds, apply fresh mulch, mow/edge, pressure wash house/walkway/driveway if needed) and then reevaluate. That may be all that's needed.

Agree with LALA about cleaning everything up and I would paint the front & storm door blackdoor

Agree with LALA. Yes, move the sago palm from the center of the yard. Hose down the siding and brick. After getting the pruning done, add one or two pots of bright flowers just before the photographer arrives. If keeping things in pots alive is a summer heat problem, plant the front porch area with bright flowers instead. Petunias, geraniums- anything red and white will show up well in photos online. The door could be painted white to make the entryway look light and bright.

I appreciate the suggestions! I'll clean it all up and re-evaluate after tree trimming and moving the randomly placed sagos!

What do you all think of adding shutters to the windows in the brick? Possibly either black ones to go with the black door suggested by jck910 or white to go with the door suggested by apple_pie_order. Thanks to yo too LALA!

Any idea about what to do around the bottom of the oak trees where the ground cover has grown so tall and thick? There should be a picture of the trees. Trimming and vine removal will also be needed.

If the ground cover is ivy, get rid of it. It is a thug and is now prohibited from being sold in many states.

Shutters do not match this style of house even though they are frequently seen. I have them on my house and when I thought about removing I found that the brick underneath had been damaged.

I think you will find the "ground cover" is not that but weedy vines such as grape and poison ivy. Just do a cleanup and then evaluate.

I would see if the shrubs could be random trimmed to look more natural, not the hedge trimmer box shape.

I would dispose of the sago's. They are very poisonous to kids and pet.

Clean all ground cover out of the beds and mulch. No landscaping fabric. It is expensive and doesn't work anyway.

Edge all the grass next to the concrete to give a clean trim.

Wash the brick and siding. No shutters. People are taking shutters down.

Take the storm door off and paint front door a color. Maybe a bench or chairs on the porch with a pot of flowers. Maybe not. If houses in your price range are selling like ours are, clean and neat are all you need. We are starting to have bidding wars here.

Mainly clean and neat. You are right not to spend a lot of money. Everyone has their own idea of what they like.

ETA: I can't see what kind of light you have at the front door, but if it is old, that is the only thing I would spend money on. You can get a new light at Home Depot for not much and it makes a big impact.

Now is seller's market, bidding wars are everywhere. Trim the brushes and ground cover neat. Don't waste too much time on landscaping.

Thank you all! Definite Seller’s market here! Bidding wars are common.

Ground cover under oaks is some kind of jasmine. We will go for neat & clean. Thank you so much!

You can lay newspaper, about 4 layers, under the mulch to keep the ground cover from coming back. Newspaper is not harmful and will decompose over time.

Pressure wash house to remove mildew from trees.

Pressure wash walkways and front entry concrete.

Remove screens from windows and store in garage/carport. Wash windows.

Remove fake shutters.

Trim all plants out front with hedge trimmers. Remove all dead plants.

You can leave the palm out front.

Clean out all vines and over growth of trees. Drop pine straw or mulch in beds and exposed areas where you cleaned out from under the trees. Make a defined bed with mulch.

Seasonal flowers by front door, pots and in ground.

New house numbers. New light fixture by front and back door or spray paint them with black paint.

You may want to invest in a can of white paint and touch up the doorways and support columns. At the very least, wash them with soapy water to remove dirt and mildew.

That's a really nice oak out back. Once you clear out the vines and brush, it should look stellar.

Your goal is clean, neat and good repair. Outside and inside. A can of paint, a bucket of soapy suds and some elbow grease are good investments.

Good luck. Let us know how it turns out.

"Any idea about what to do around the bottom of the oak trees where the ground cover has grown so tall and thick?" It looks disheveled because all the components -- groundcover, tree trunks, tree canopy -- have grown into each other's space and there is no clear definition between them. Sever the groundcover climbing the trees near the base of the tree. Don't waste time trying to extricate the severed but well attached parts from the tree trunks. In time, as the dying tissue shrinks, it will loosen and fall, or be easily pulled off. On the groundcover that is on the ground, with a string trimmer, trim off any high parts that stick up in order to smooth it out. Again, remove low hanging limbs & branches from the tree trunk such that the bottom of the newly raised canopy is level. The minimum you'd want to remove is at least to the height of the eaves. (It could be more but we can't see the whole tree and it's backgrounds.)

The groundcover bed needs a crisp edge. We can't detect where it stops and the grass begins. You'll probably need to rely mainly on mowing to do this. It's not quite as nice as a trench edge, which is an obvious line of demarcation, but it will suffice for selling preparation.

This is how far we have come. Trees have been trimmed up so the canopy is not so low and house can be seen. The jungle of vines and weeds growing all in the oaks has been removed. Sago was relocated. Shrubs trimmed. Some plants have been removed from beds. I would LOVE to know your suggestions for filling the blank spaces in the beds. Something flowering would be pretty. That is liriope growing in the bed in front of the front porch. Yes along the house. Not sure what some small scruffy looking plants are. There’s not much to them. They almost look like they could have been some kind of boxwood. When I first posted I had not yet closed on the house. That’s a new roof and new windows too.

New photos? Is this a flip?

Would really like to see new photos. You will get more appropriate responses.

Need new photos.

A scheme of arranging

Uploading new photos! Yes! It is a flip in a fast moving market very close to the beach. Thanks to all!

@yardvark
@homechef59
@apple_pie_order
@houssaon
@summersrhythm_z6a
@maifleur03
@Sherry
@LALA
@jck910
Thanks for commenting! Here are the updated pictures. Again, it is a flip so I want it neat and clean with decent curb appeal, but I really do not need to do too much for it to sell in this market. What would you suggest for between the yews? Would you just space out the liriope more evenly by the front porch? Would you pull out the little scrubby unidentifiable pieces of shrubs by some yews?
Power washing is tomorrow. I know it needs it badly!
Painting the front door and glass door SW Peppercorn I think-really dark grey almost black.
New house numbers coming for the column.
The ground over beneath the oaks is already greening back up - not shown in pics, but I noticed it today.
Sprinkler system is now working great!

It would be good to bring the height of the yews down a bit. Plant azalea or a variegated bush between the yews. Get rid of the scrubby plants.

Do you think a white flowering plant would work between the yews? This pinkish-orange brick seems like it would keep lots of pink, orange, red flowering plants from popping off the brick so I think about white. Problem there is what white flowering plants are there that flower in the early fall? Drift roses? Vinca? I’m not an azalea fan planted in close to other shrubs or encore azaleas might be nice. I am in Pensacola, FL, zone 9A. Maybe yellow instead of white? I need to find my landscaping books! All help is appreciated!

The yews need to come down at least a foot but that might leave them bald in the center. My suggestion is to purchase the smallest sized pot of chrysanthemums in as many colors as you can find. Put each next to the wall to see which is best. You can also try some of the purple or other colored asters.

What are the dark lines coming down from the center of the windows? You might want to paint those a color similar to the brick so they do not stand out as much.

Looking good with the roof, washing and cleaning out around the tree area. I agree that the yews need to be shorter, even by 6” so they don’t look so overwhelming to anything you might put in between. Take out the scrubby bushes and add something less structured like variegated spirea (bridal wreath). Get the 5 gal size and plant 1-2 so the space looks filled but not crowded. Add more of the giant liriope across the length of the front porch. Focus color on the porch in good sized pots; if you can, curve the beds in front of the liriope and add some color plants there, too. I like your idea of using white flowering plants — if you put some in pots, use pots in a solid accent color like bright (not lime!) green.

Shorten the yews if you can, and even if you can't, round off their corners. The square look is not attractive.

Thanks everyone! Any other suggestions for white flowering plants that would bloom early fall?

Japanese Anemone Honorine Jobert.

Or for instant effect pot grown Chrysanthemums.

Problem with fall blooming plants is that they would need to be already established to bloom. You do not have time for that if you are planning on selling this year. Depending on the area of the country you are in the first frosts may happen before Halloween which is 7 weeks away. Any bloom unless you covered it nightly would be gone the next morning. Our normal first frosts are the second week of October you would have to check when yours are.

Reduce the size of the yews by 1/3 and round them off. Square is too hard. Spread mulch or pine straw for the beds. Make sure the edges of the beds are defined. Get some nice big pots with blooming chrysanthemums for the front door. You can put some in the ground, too. Select a bright color. Look for other entrances like the garage and back door for additional potted flowers. Be sure to water frequently. Once the pressure washing is done, get the pictures and on the market asap.

I would have painted the house white, but it's a flip. So, keep your money in your pocket.

We are in FL. Rarely ever get a frost. If we do it is in February most often.

Please don’t paint the front door gray or black - it’s already a bit dark on the porch. A bright color would be good. It’s a wonderful house, very cute, I would just put some potted plants on the porch and let ‘er rip.

I'd buy some bright orange or red geraniums or New Guinea impatiens for the front porch area, as Yardvaark showed. For filler under the windows, nothing much will show well next to the aged yews., so don't bother. Add some topper or planting mix along the entire front foundation bed to finish it off.