Hi Cari
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Hi Joanne, Thanks for your reply. I have never posted this before today. I've just inherited the home.

Your location is essential for us to provide any planting ideas. But for a rental property that looks like it is very dry, any plantings should be very low maintenance and drought tolerant.

Wow, where to begin. Too bad the garage was positioned the way is was...makes the whole front yard concrete. All the different sized windows are distracting and the one nice-sized window is cut off by the tree, What art the three panels to the left of the front door. Windows?

It pains me to say this, I love trees, but first thing I’d do is cut that one in front down. It looks like it’s already buckled the driveway.

Are you wanting mainly paint and landscaping suggestions? Are you planning anything structural, too?

I would paint it a lighter color, with a darker trim color.

I would trim out the windows on the exterior.

I would do something about those super awkward drain pipes that stick out everywhere. Why do they have to stick out? Or even be on the front-facing side of the house?

I would add attractive wall sconces on either side of the garage door and right by the front door.

I would (and everyone will hate me for it, but oh well)take out that tree that has destroyed the driveway (has it damaged the homes' foundation???? You better check on that).

The driveway has to be replaced.

I would remove those awkward pavers by that planting bed near the house.

Of course, as gardengal mentioned, you need a lot of landscape. Some tall things, some bushes, some grass (unless you're in a drought zone).

If you still have money left over, that front entry could use, perhaps, some nice decorative stone laid, if possible.

First thoughts, depending on your budget, I say:

Paint the house. The current colors are completely blah - except the front door, that is a great color. Work off of that. A sage green, with either a light cream, the door shade, or paler shade of the door for all trim is my suggestion - those colors should work with the brown roof. Paint the rafters of the overhangs the same blue as the door.

From the distance shot I can't tell if there is a porch light - if that is, replace it with a larger one, probably in black, one with a "ranch" vibe.

Get rid of the tiny shutters on the small window. Add trim similar to the larger window on the other two. I would say get rid of the little overhang on the little window, but perhaps you need the shade, and it matches the overhang on the other side of the house - same rustic vibe.

Replace the gate. A prefab one from a big box store shouldn't be too costly.

Your gutters are dumping right next to your foundation. Channel them farther away to avoid foundation damage. I can't tell what the posts sticking up, and the stuff next to the garage are about - can that all be removed or relocated?

Fill in the planting beds with drought tolerant ground cover and perennials, and a couple of low growing, drought tolerant shrubs - suitable for your planting zone. Or, instead of shrubs, get some large glazed ceramic pots and a bench for height and interest.

Then look at the yard - seems like grass is not a good option. Ask at a garden center about what ground covers are best suited for your climate and current weather trends and plant that - maybe low growing junipers, along with a vegetative like African Daisy or aptenia and some rocks; starting near the house and working out as you have the time & $$.

I would have the house and the driveway power washed. Then paint all the trim white. Unless the siding need to be painted, the current color is fine.

Will the future tenet take care of lawn mowing and yard maintenance or will you hire a lawn company?

I agree the tree is in a bad location and probably needs to go.

You can plant that whole area with a ground cover like pachysandra or vinca. DO NOT use ivy. It is a thug plant and you'll never get rid of it.

On the front side of the garage, plant some yews. Make sure you leave enough room for them to grow and allow for at least a foot spacing between the plant at maturity and the side of the house.

Look into rain chain systems for the right side of the house. Much more attractive.

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Wow, thank you all for these suggestions! It's certainly an overwhelming project, and I'm not sure how much it will be worth spending.

The location is central valley of CA, so it is very dry in the summer. I'd certainly be interested in drought-resistant plants, but also would want to think of budget. Are there affordable options?

Those panels are windows. And an overhang is probably necessary - west facing and the garage was previously converted to living space. I am definitely looking into whether the house foundation is okay. The tree is one of the only nice things about the front yard, but I agree its location does not work. And yes, the posts are (don't ask) bike parking, so they don't need to be there.

Since it's not actually a garage, all that cement is unnecessary. Is it expensive to remove most of it? Where would you all position a driveway?

Pressure washing can damage stucco (especially if there are cracks or chips in it) and siding. You have to be sure to get a company that will use the proper pressure and direction of spray to avoid damage and avoid driving moisture behind the surfaces.

I'm in SoCal, so not exactly sure of your growing zone. We do still have a little bit of grass left (husband likes it), but everything else replaced with drought tolerant plants, but not succulents.

If your growing zone permits, I recommend looking into Mediterranean landscape ideas.

We used a lot of rosemary (so many different kinds: ground-cover like (prostratus), hedge-making (in our case, Coastal Rosemary is the common name), lantana, ornamental grasses, Italian cypress trees, bougainvillea. I wish we had the fruitless olive trees, but our trees were doing fine, so they stayed. I recommend hiring someone local to make you a plan.

We did it on a tight budget and re-did the whole front yard (except the small patch of grass), with less than $2K for a big color plan, plant palette list, online interactive website, and got us through HOA approval. If you don't have an HOA, it might've been half of that price, and we are in a HCOLA. Of course you have to purchase the plants (smaller plants = less money), and irrigation supplies. Then we just had our weekly landscape guy do the install, and it took him about 3-4 days with a helper. So you can price that out based on whatever your local workers charge for that many days of work. Our guy installed a new drip system everywhere except the grass, too.

Without doing the work ourselves, I don't see how we could've saved any more money than that.

Was the garage conversion permitted? I hope so, because I wouldn't rent out a house with an unpermitted converted garage space. It seems dangerous and would lead to liability. Are there appropriate exit doors/windows? Smoke detectors, etc.? etc. etc.

I wouldn't guess where you could put the driveway if that garage is permanently part of the interior living space. Maybe provide for the pros your measured layout, showing the whole front yard. They can advise you.

I'm not sure how much it will be worth spending

That depends on your long term plans. Do you want to turn it around for sale, or perhaps get top rental dollar? Is there a housing shortage in your area that makes it not matter much about curb appeal to attract good renters?

If you plan to hold it for a while, then remember that the fixing up doesn't have to be all done at once. Especially for the exterior - neat, tidy, clean + a few starter touches go a long way.

One tip for plants - haunt your local big box stores (Lowes, Walmart etc) that have garden centers, as well as actual garden centers/ nurseries, looking for marked down plants. Here most plant material goes on mark down as they become bedraggled or finish blooming but they are still viable with a little TLC; and it all goes on clearance starting in September before they close down for the winter (or start to bring in Christmas trees). Would that also be true in the Central Valley? It dips to freezing in winter, doesn't it? Drought resistant should be very common in your area and not costly.

I found a guy in my local classifieds (today it would be craigslist, or facebook) who offered bobcat services. He was much less expensive that official landscaping companies, and tore out an old cement patio then regraded the site for me. Pulled out an overgrown evergreen shrub also. I put in the replacement paver patio myself - not hard, just tedious.

If you are going to paint, coordinate the colors of walls and trim with the roof. White walls with trim two shades darker than the roof would work fine.

In the central valley of California, you either have or will shortly have water restrictions because we are in the middle of a severe drought. This is not the time to add landscaping that requires water. Large, smooth Mexican river rocks about the size of an egg could be used to cover the foundation beds. Smaller rocks get thrown up by lawnmowers and break windows, so avoid those. Remove the old yard decor and old barbecue, fix the fence gates.

I agree with others that the tree needs to be removed (alas). However, the concrete will likely resettle over the next few years as the roots are digested by termites and rot, especially if it rains. There's no need to remove the concrete driveway, just pressure wash it and patch the cracks.

The curb appeal will also be improved if you provide same-color curtains or blinds for the all the windows on the front of the house. Target and Walmart have inexpensive washable white cotton curtains with grommets that will look nice on new rods.

houssaon - What a cool rain spout! There is currently a lawn service for $70 a month. I'm not sure what they are mowing except for dirt.... I like the idea of an alternate ground cover

Mrs. S - The conversion was done 25 years or more ago, and the house has been rented out regularly for that long. Waiting on an appraisal, and the house is also getting an inspection soon. It's currently rented out using a well-respected property management company, so I hope it meets all requirements! You aren't wrong, though, the house also needs some work on the inside (ie. all the closet doors are missing. Why??) I love the idea of rosemary.

raee_gw zone 5b-6a Ohio - Thanks for the tips. You are right about possibly spreading out some of the work. That will help with both overwhelm and finances.

Many inexpensive rentals do not have the closet doors they originally had. Some may have curtain rods where the doors used to be. You can have new closet doors installed by a handyman or big box store installer.

Here is a good article on ground cover: Good Housekeeping - 20 Best Ground Cover Plants. You can double check with your local supplier about appropriateness for your situation.

There is a relatively new method to level cracked driveways and reseal them. They drill holes through the concrete and pump in a foam material that expands and they can renew the driveway for 1/3 the cost of replacing. Check that out. Personally, I would pass on this purchase. Just from what I can see, you will have a lot of costs to get this rentable without a lot of ongoing cash flow issues. I can see loads of issues all costly. Think long and hard on this. Nothing but trouble here IMO. Hope you can find a better property that won’t eat your lunch.

Lol, Flo Mangan, I wouldn't buy it either, but I actually inherited it. It has been successfully rented out for 25+ years, though. Neat idea about the way to level and reseal driveways, thanks for that!

Thank you apple_pie_order, the river rocks idea is cool!

You're classifying the house as a rental investment property. I know you must have investigated the pluses and minuses. To make it simple, you rent for 1% of your purchase price + the cover costs and reno cost.. So if you own the house at $200,000 in total, then you want to get $2,000.00 a month or $24,000.00 a year. Tax benefits available to you.

Cleaning up the yard is doable, but the exterior of the house looks pretty rough. And, what about the interior? Any photos available? It isn't just the curb appeal that is important.

Everyone here is sharing great advice, but to get down to brass tacks, I suggest you give responders a budget amount. My low budget and your low budget could be (tens of )thousands of dollars apart.

Hi judianna20, it is a house I just inherited w/o a mortgage that has been rented out and has current renters. It certainly needs work inside too, but I'm not posting those pics for the renters' privacy. I have not yet set a budget but appreciate all the ideas. I am still considering how much to budget upgrade.

For a rental property, I'd keep any immediate exterior upgrades to a minimum. I might consider repainting but only if it was time to repaint. For any landscaping, keep that simple as well. And drought tolerant and as low maintenance as possible - evergreen shrubs and groundcovers, natives. And anywhere in CA I'd give consideration to fire-safe landscaping. Lots of websites detailing how-to and what and where not to plant. That may govern whether the tree should stay or go.

And unless the driveway was too damaged to navigate easily, I wouldn't resurface that either. It is not a pressing matter and if you are still developing a budget, you'll realize better returns faster with any interior improvements. Fluffing up the outside can wait.

Kari, then leave the house as is, just keep the exterior neat and clean. Don't spend any money on landscaping now, as the burden of upkeep lands on your tenants.

Don't forget tax implications. The value of the house is on a day basis: its fair market value at the date of the prior owner's death. Believe it...that date of value is very important to you.

The property management company handles the upkeep, and I'm interested in drought tolerant plants to lower maintenance. I'm not concerned about the tax basis right now as it is a long-term income generating property, so I have no plans to sell but I do hope to increase the rental rates

I would research (by visiting) rentals in the area and seeing their condition vs rental price. Your biggest challenge will be to improve within the income possibilities of the market in your area. Cash flow will also be a consideration. So assess the area, see what upgrades would be needed to get the “income” to minimize your outflow of cash. Consider state taxes and other costs to make sure once you lease it you make some profit over outflow of cash. Older homes cost especially when routine maintenance has been done over a long period of years. Consider selling in this hot market to bank equity now for your future. Just really think things through and analyze all the pros and cons. As to drought resistant plants, ice plants near houses in this location are great and a big perimeter of them will help protect the home from forest fires. They are filled with water. Once you remove that tree, plant one that won’t get into your sewer lines or mess up your foundation. Check with local college extension office and get tips from them. Most have lists of suggested plants and trees. Aloe plants are good too. A garden and small bistro table and chairs converting driveway area to patio would be inexpensive way to boost curb appeal. I would paint exterior an off white with black trim. Black pots creating front patio and entry. If you replace roof, go with black or dark gray. You can add outdoor rug for color too. Then get driveway repaired. I put an acrylic awning over small garage door. You could do a black and white stripe fabric style awning too. I added two large modern exterior fixtures. Then aloe plants in black pots along with drought resistant plants on strip to right of driveway. A lighter exterior color would modernize your curb appeal a lot. Black trim and either a cedar front door or semi gloss black door. SW Tricorn black with SW Pure White or Alabaster for body of house. Carry that color palette inside home for continuity.

As a fellow California resident, I implore you to plant native species plants. Our ecosystem depends on it, and added benefit is that CA natives can handle our climate and are low maintenance (generally). Ignore the ice plant suggestion— it’s a bad, invasive species, harmful to our environment.

Check out theodorepayne.org. Great educational resources about native species (and what to plant for drought, fire resistance etc)

Lynne- my uncle lived in Laguna Beach and had ice plants all around his house. One fire burned houses either side of his and the fire department attributed to these plants. He did have a lot hardscape too so I am quite surprised at your comments about the plant. I will research it further.

@flo hi flo! Sure didn’t mean to call you out or anything rude. Just being a native gardener for a long time now, I know how problematic ice plant can be (sadly cause it’s cool looking!). The other thing about succulents in general is that while they are cool looking and drought tolerant for sure, they are essentially sterile for our ecosystem. Meaning that our native birds and pollinators etc. don’t derive any benefit from them at all. Same with Mediterranean or Australian, South African plants. Lots of beautiful species and OK to incorporate in a landscape ornamentally, but the bulk of our plantings should be species native to our California so that our birds and pollinators can thrive! 😊

In Orange County, north San Diego County, a fabulous resource (and delightful place to visit) is Tree of Life nursery. Such a selection.