Sun and shade set off your home in the summer time in Portland

That's cool! Sun and shade set off your home in summer

 In heat of July, few things are as attractive to a home buyer as the interplay of cool shade and cheerful sun on a pretty summer day.  For home sellers, the first, obvious, consideration to selling a home in July is making sure air conditioning is in good working order. Buyers will want to walk into a clean and cool home, not a stuffy and hot house.  The cool outside the home is just as important as the cool inside as sun and shade take the stage.  To show your property to the best advantage, create the shady spots buyers will love.  

 Elegant oaks and maples or stately palms in the south or the islands add both grandeur and relief from the sun. If your property is mature enough to have them, emphasize one tree with pretty lounge or patio chairs. In some cases, buyers will want to stage the setting with flowers and frosty lemonade. On wooded lots, you can draw the eye to large trees in the background with a small cement bench.   However, large trees are not always assets.  Real estate experts advise home sellers to take their ego and emotions out of their property.  An enormous pine that is too close to a house, will decrease a property's value.  The same is true for untended trees that you can't walk under or shaggy shrubs that look neglected.  Only time can put lovely trees on a property and if your home doesn't have them, you can still find ways to create both shady and sunny spots in your yard.

 Water features -- even directly in the sun -- count as cool spots, but not shady spots. If no natural shade exists, experiment with creating shady spots with umbrellas, positioned within view of fountains and pools.  Consider installing an awning over the back patio door.  Canvas awnings are not only attractive, but they create a pleasant transition from the cool of the house to a shaded patio.  A less permanent solution is an inexpensive screen house that is properly erected and maintained.