How can I help my yard?

Hi John,

Take a few minutes to read your home warranty, it will tell whether or not your landscape is covered, and if so it will be specific.

If it’s not covered, you can use several layers of mulch and then topsoil on that and grow a new lawn. THe rocks underneath will insure good drainage. It worked for my mom

I would doubt that the warrantee would cover it. I've found that most are not worth the price paid for them.

What was agreed upon in the contract? Sounds like this is a new home build? If so, not typically covered unless specified in the contract. Many builders are cheap. They make the model home look really really pretty. They have to be, so prospective buyers will purchase the homes. Generally they hire a landscaper to design the model homes. When they build the houses as they are sold, they do the absolute bare minimum to the front yard and never prep the area properly and 9 times out of 10 all landscaping is dead within a year. Generally due to lack of irrigation. Those items age generally an "upgrade" option and they charge outrageous sums for them. This is partly why back and side yards come unlandscaped. It is better to purchase the home and hire your own landscape designer to do your yard. Most people put in irrigation and very basic landscape and improve the area over time if budget is an issue. When I purchased my second home, it was a new build. I opted for no landscaping but did specify "debris removal." When it came time for final walk through and punch list time, I didn't sign the papers until every single issue was resolved, which included debris removal. They tried to coerce me into signing and that they "would come back later" to complete. Good luck fighting that . . . Who needs the stress? I flat out refused and gently reminded them of my background and profession. Someone was out the next day and my dad was kind enough to take the time to babysit and supervise for me so I didn't have to take off an unnecessary day from work. Then I designed my own sprinkler system and installed with the help of day laborers to help dig the trenches. Then seeded for lawns and added in plants and hardscape as my budget permitted. I was young, very young and manual labor was no problem back then, now I would have to hire someone. (When I sold that property I sold it for almost double what I paid for it.)

If it were me, I would hire a clean up crew to get rid of anything dead that can't be saved. Let the ground rest over the winter and start fresh in the spring. Design or hire a landscaping professional to help you. You will need some sort of an idea or plan as to what you want, so the correct type of irrigation can be installed.

On my current home, which was a problem property and was vacant for a couple of years, the place was a mess and I made a killing on the purchase price. I did all the landscaping myself, again over time as budget permitted.

Hi John, check over your warranty and speak to neighbors who used the same builder, maybe they are waiting to bring in topsoil until the neighborhood is complete