4 Ways Landscape Designers Can Increase Your Home’s Value

There are many reasons why you might employ a landscape architect to redesign and create a completely new garden for you at your property. It could be you have moved into a new house, and you want to change it to your personal preferences. Maybe your current garden is sadly lacking and needs a new lease of life. You may also have discovered landscaping recently and until now were not aware of its potential to transform your garden.

There is one other reason that might be applicable, and it is one that many homeowners often do not think of when focussing on changing their garden’s layout, albeit for some others this is the primary incentive to transform their garden. That reason is increasing the value of their property. The former group we mentioned see this as a bonus but are more focussed on other reasons. The latter is fully aware of it, and see the work of their landscape architect as an investment.

4 Landscape Design Features That Offer A Huge Return On Investment

Landscape architects and designers create awesome gardens and outdoor living areas for their clients, but the reason they were employed in the first place can differ from client to client. Some will have moved into a new home and need their garden totally revamped. Others will have grown tired of their current garden or its layout and want to give it a completely new look. And finally, there will be some clients who want a landscape design as means of investing.

Some of you might be thinking is stocks, shares and bonds are for investing in, and that is true. However, do not underestimate the ability of a garden that has been planned and created by professional landscape designers, such as Landscaping Sydney, to provide the client who has paid for it, a hefty profit.  Money might not grow on trees, but it can certainly be created by them, and other garden plants and features if they are of sufficient beauty and quality.

If you are still unsure as to how a landscape architect can join the ranks of investment bankers and brokers by giving you a possibility of gaining a return on what you invest in your garden, then here are some specific examples of landscape design features that prove it.

Regulation D

For most entrepreneurs, the best vehicle to accomplish initial equity financing under an exemption is through the use of a Private Placement Memorandum (PPM) under Regulation D (Reg D), which is a limited offer and sale of their company’s stock, or securities, without registration under the Federal Securities Act of 1933.

Some risks continue under Reg D, but compliance is significantly easier than before Reg D. A major, major point is that complying with Reg D, it provides the company, its officers, and its directors with an insurance policy of sorts regarding disclosure.

There Are Six Basic Rules
Regulation D consists of six basic rules. The first three are concerned with definitions, conditions, and notification. Rule 501 covers the definitions of the various terms used in the rules. Rule 502 sets forth the conditions, limitations, and information requirements for the exemptions in Rules 504, 505, and 506. Rule 503 contains the SEC notification requirements.

The last three rules (504, 505, and 506) deal with the specifics of raising money under Reg D. Rule 504 generally pertains to securities sales up to $1 million. Rule 505 applies to offerings from $1 million to $5 million. Rule 506 is for securities offerings exceeding $5 million. (A complete review of all aspects of Reg D is contained in our book Going Public” – Everything You Need to Know to Take Your Company Public.)

Rule 506: Offerings with no dollar limit

Under SEC Rule 506; an issuer may issue an unlimited amount of securities, with no dollar limit, to 35 unsophisticated investors plus any number of “accredited investors.” There are required disclosures, if a sale of securities includes purchasers who are not accredited investors. All non-accredited investors must be sophisticated and must sign an Investor Questionnaire acknowledging same. Advertising and a general solicitation are prohibited.

The securities are “restricted securities” which may not be readily resold. There is a major advantage to 506, in that it supersedes and preempts the securities laws of all the states. This saves a lot of time, effort, and expense if the issuer is obtaining money from investors in multiple states. Form D must be filed with the SEC within 15 days after the first sale of securities and also with the Secretary of State of each state in which a purchaser is a resident.

Under Rule 506(c)
Just like 506(b). there is no limit on the dollar size and a company can broadly solicit and generally advertise the offering if:

The investors in the offering are all accredited investors; and
The company has taken reasonable steps to verify that its investors are accredited investors, which could include reviewing documentation, such as W-2s, tax returns, bank and brokerage statements, credit reports and the like.

Visit our FAQ page on Private Offerings for additional information

Rule 505: Offerings of $5 million or less

Rule 505 is used for offerings of $5 million or less in any 12-month period and is restricted to 35 purchasers other than “accredited investors.”

There are a number of required disclosures if the sale of securities includes investors who are not accredited investors: advertising and a general solicitation are prohibited, one must inform purchasers that they receive “restricted” securities (meaning that the securities cannot be sold for a time period without registering them), your must not violate the anti fraud prohibitions of the Federal Security Laws, financial statements need to be certified by an independent public accountant or at a minimum, the balance sheet needs to be audited.

Companies must give non-accredited investors disclosure documents that are the same as those used in registered offerings. If a company provides information to accredited investors, it must make this information available to non-accredited investors as well. The company must also be available to answer questions by prospective purchasers. The Issuer must comply with the securities laws of each state in which a person who buys the security is a resident, and must usually file a notice with that state’s commissioner of corporations or similar official.

Rule 504

This rule is considered by many as the perfect answer for the company just starting out OR one that needs to raise less than $1 million.

Regulation D Rule 504 offers such companies:
An exemption to raise up to $1 million
No disclosure criteria
Few general solicitation and resale restrictions
No limit as to the number or type of investors

Actually, Congress’s original intent in 1982 for Rule 504 was to “set aside a clear and workable exemption for small issuers to be regulated by state blue sky requirements, but by the same token, to be subjected to federal anti-fraud provisions and civil liability provisions.” Rule 504 exemption is provided for almost any type of organization, including corporations, LLCs, partnerships, trusts, or other entities. However, it is not applicable to companies already reporting to the SEC (subject to the ’34 Act) or investment companies.