Yes, he needs a new roof. I will be taking care of that as a gift for him.

Paint and landscaping. A nice blue would work wonders. Flowering shrubs.

Long term possibilities - a covered entry or porch, new entry door, landing.

Since you are a pro with organic gardens... perhaps an organic garden?

Large growing deciduous tree, planted at least 25' away from the home, colorful shrubs and flower installations, including Spring bulbs, new, more colorful front door, new roof, full view storm door with brass kickplate, colorful plantings leading from the driveway to the front of the home, perhaps a bench or some colorful chairs in keeping with the home's styling. Keep mulch away from the foundation area to avoid having to deal with arterial fungus issues. Hopefully, your son doesn't have to deal with deer, groundhogs, etc.

@Christopher CNC Of course son has Internet. I am looking for ideas so that I can provide as a gift to him. Sort of a surprise.

If I just purchased my first home, I would be looking forward to making it my own- not my mother’s. Suggestions are one thing, but unilaterally deciding what changes are to be made and then “surprising “ someone with the changes, is another. Let him be an adult and make his own decisions.

The first thing to go ( for me ) would be to have those 3 evergreens (?) removed. The ones blocking the window are obnoxious. im not crazy about the shutters either. Perhaps remove and trim out the windows with beefier trim? The new roof will be a huge improvement.

Moss on roof does not necessarily indicate need for replacement of entire roof - which is never a minor expense. That should not be undertaken unless a qualified party has inspected the roof and determined it is worn out.

House is not big enough for a large deciduous tree to be in scale with it.

Pointy conifers are probably the very frequently planted Thuja occidentalis 'Smaragd' and of course not working well where they are right in front of the center of the house.

Oh come on now. Those very healthy looking pointy conifers are an opportunity just waiting to be put to good use. They would look amazing with some green bowling balls strewn across the lawn. At least keep the two in the middle. Hopefully they aren't rubbing on the roof or gutters if it has any gutters.

I'd agree with fraker-permit your son to make his own selections. A gift certificate might be welcome, but making the aforementioned decisions as a surprise rarely makes the recipient truly happy.

I don't see why - if one has the skills to develop one - a landscape design plan for the new property wouldn't make an excellent and thoughtful gift. There is no obligation on the part of the recipient. It is just a drafted plan outlining the possibilities of what could be. If this is son's first home and he is not an experienced gardener, having a plan to follow - or not - as he wished and time and $$ permitted is a wonderful idea.

But if you are coming to a public forum to ask for ideas, perhaps developing a thoughtful landscape plan, including any hardscaping elements, exceeds your current skill set. If so, then maybe gifting your son with an hour or two consultation with a professional designer would be more efficient and appropriate.

Yes: in general paying for local guidance from someone who can view the project site in person, is familiar with regional circumstances seems like it would tend to be a better bet than hoping free commentary (or cartoon like mockups) from random people on the web will lead to an equally reliable and pleasing outcome. At least when there is much size, complexity or potential expense involved.

There is also the FIND PROFESSIONALS feature at the top of the page with which you might be able to identify suitable service providers working your market area.

I think just cleaning or replacing the roof, removing those trees and
doing some planting beds will really improve the looks of his home. It's not a great picture of the whole area and you didn't include any info about where it's located or which direction this view is facing, but assuming there is a driveway to the right and a walkway to the driveway, I've always like this home's landscaping for a small ranch style house.

Is he planning on painting it? I think he could do much better with a new color on the siding. Maybe a new color for the front door with a full glass storm door so it can be seen.

Sorry, but every post I’ve read this morning has had snarky comments, and I’m at my limit. Can’t we just stop and be respectful? The OP never said anything about actually doing the work, other than gifting a roof. Offering ideas, as long as they aren’t overbearing might very well be appreciated by (perhaps sought?) this new homeowner. Our kids call for input every time something more major comes up, because they know their dad, in particular, has the knowledge and experience to offer good advice.

My son is also looking for his first house. He’s never owned a house before and I know he’ll ask me for ideas. But after reading thie answers to this post, I doubt I’ll ask here. Honestly, people. Have you all turned your children loose at 21 and never talked to them again? My kids do ask my opinions but they don’t always take it. As it should be. But they do ask sometimes.

I'm not sure what everyone is getting so het up about! Several of the comments offered very appropriate advice and only a couple could be considered "snarky"....and that at a push.

I sometimes have to wonder about the rationale when someone comes here looking for advice. Just exactly what are you looking for? While it is not rocket science, landscape design is not an inherent skill set and experience - if not formal training - is a requirement if one expects to get anything other an amateurish mishmash. The results of which we see here consistently from others asking for similar help.

As a judicious purveyor of snark let me point out a few things about this poster, McGovern Partners. This is the second open ended, no parameters, what would you do request with a single google street view and now an MLS listing picture. There has been no follow up or interaction with people's suggestions, no more info about wants, needs or budgets or any more clarifying pictures provided by the OP even upon request.

What would you propose to enhance curb appeal of my house (houzz.com)

A quick search of McGovern Partners in Connecticut indicates James is a wholesale, distressed and foreclosed house buyer and flipper among other things, as does the 'buying and selling homes' category it is posted in. I detect a certain level of dishonesty from this poster.

There is nothing wrong with saying I am putting my house on the market. What cheap and easy fixes can I do to help sell it. Those posts are common and people are happy to help. Instead we are getting this is my house and now this is my son's house with no seeming true interest in their respective homes.

James is more than welcome to come back and tell me I am wrong about this, but I see a house flipper who can't even be honest about what actual kind of ideas and help he is looking for. I want to see a picture of his son in front of his new house.

Christopher C Nc - My apologies if you are right and this OP is not being forthright. It would be totally fair to call him out on that. I’m still frustrated today by all the less than supportive/judgmental (maybe not snarky?) comments I’m seeing in houzz these days, maybe need to take time off from the site.

I hear you ngcurt. You must be reading in other topics too. I have not seen a lot of snark in the LD forum of late, not that it doesn't happen here too.

I will say I was quite serious about my green bowling balls rolling across the lawn idea to go with the tall pointy conifers. It was not snark. I would love more info and pictures to see if it could actually be pulled off.

I will add something that will appear to be snark but is something every parent needs to understand. The OP mentioned that they were looking for ideas to gift the "son". There is a big difference between gifting with input from the person that the gift is for and just gifting based on ideas from the vast wasteland of the internet. Gifting something like landscaping or repairs without input from the recipient is no better than gifts at the holidays that are quickly donated. Although it would be a great method to meet the neighbors if you piled the stuff with a sign to take what you want.

I, too, was feeling badly about the reception this guy received, but now with more info it explains it. Maybe next time, call someone out about their intentions/untruths/history to give the rest of us a head's up about who we may be dealing with?

I would go with gray/charcoal roof and black shutters, light body and pop-up door

@gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9) Thank you for sharing your thoughts. My son is trying to follow in his dads footstep. He is 19 and works at Amazon. Instead of paying for room and board, he thought he would purchase a house near campus. He sees no reason that $20K in room and board annually should not create equity for him.

@Christopher CNC Wow, you are capable of using Google. this is my son's first house and does not need to be generic like a flipper house. Sorry if the thought of a 19 year old kid wanting to purchase his first house while in college is elusive to you.

Great, glad to hear this isn't a flipper house and it doesn't need to be generic. I'd be happy to discuss the design potential of the idea of green bowling balls rolling across the lawn to go with the tall pointy conifers with your son. Lots of round green balls and more pointy conifers. Screw the typical suburban foundation planting concept all together.

Imagine a modern cubist kind of landscape with those sculptural forms flowing across the front in a short grass, flowering lawn that only needs mowing 3x a year. Very low maintenance, The balls will only need shearing once or twice a year. Your son sounds busy. It will be a first on the block.

Added: I grew up in a large university town. My sister lives in a neighborhood closer to campus that got sucked up by college student 'owners'. So no, the idea of it is not elusive.

While the idea of owning your own home at 19 sounds good when you read about it. It also limits what a person male or female will quickly be able to do. Imagine having to turn down that dream job or perhaps not even be considered for it because of the inability to just pick up and move to a new location. If a person is already married and expecting children at that age a house may be a wise investment but for a single person with all the changes that happen between that age and about 28-30 it creates anchors.

@maifleur03 It's a short term investment. One step above a flipper house.

Christopher although it was aimed at the OP it was also aimed at any parent who is urging their child to purchase a house because it is the right thing to do. During my life I have seen several people passed over for advancement because being unable to simply pack a bag and go.

I think most places it would be easy to turn a house like that into a rental, if the young owner had another opportunity that required him to leave. Sounds like dad would likely be a willing helper regarding managing a rental if it came to that, or arranging a sale if his son had to leave.

I think it's great to imagine a person of that age owning their own home and the benefits that come with that.