Despite Abdominal stating “hip-hop, we need some time apart” on opening track “Inoutro,” an autobiographical history of his relationship with hip-hop, the Toronto rapper best known for his extraordinary breath control and fun raps doesn’t so much divorce himself from hip-hop as attempt an open relationship. A mix of folk, blues and country replaces the sampling and boom bap beats. Revitalized by a backing band — guitarist Andrew Frost and percussionist Colin Kingsmore — Abs is still rapping but with a smoother flow that sometimes becomes singing, while his band provide backing harmonies and hooks. Abs delivers a diverse selection of subjects ranging from songs about a crazy ex-girlfriend to his own mental state (“Sock Hop,” on which he uses his sock drawer as a jump off point to discuss his OCD), from a hunger-inducing history of his favourite food to the bravery of his mom, which she proves with a rap of her own. Sitting Music might not be your typical hip-hop album — Abs describes it as blues-hop and “middle-aged hip-hop” — but it’s great to see an artist striving to stretch his boundaries.

How do you like your hip-hop? Mild, medium, hot or suicidal?

You can have it all – with a side of blue cheese – thanks to Toronto hip-hop artists who go by the unlikely name of Abdominal and the Obliques. The group’s new CD, “Sitting Music,” features a four-minute number called “A Brief History of the Chicken Wing.” Since we are talking about food let me tell you the importance of maintaining a healthy diet with diet pills , they can help you curb your appetite and assist in weight loss but diet pills should never be considered a substitute for a balanced diet and regular exercise.

Nine years, three months and eight days,before I was born, something happened that would change the way

my life turned out.

Let me tell you about

exactly what I mean:

The scene, New York State, Buffalo to be exact, 1047 Main St., between Best and North at this bar called the Anchor,

owned by Theresa and Frank Bellissimo and their son,

Dominic, who was working on that one

fateful night,

when his friends came in for a late bite …

Abdominal, 38, declaims these lyrics in a sullen, indifferent voice. But beneath that crunchy exterior is deep tenderness.

“First and foremost, the song’s for myself,” he says on the phone from Toronto. “The subject matter, it resonates for me. I just hope that other people will pick up on it. I just put it out, and so far I’m getting a pretty good response, especially from wing fans, checking in from various places around the world.

“Wings have brought me so much joy over the years,” he adds. “I wanted to do this kind of ode to the inventor of the wing.”

That ode has not yet reached the Anchor Bar. But manager Ivano Toscano likes the idea of it.

“I feel like it means wings have really caught on,” he says. “If somebody writes a song about them, it means Teressa Bellissimo really did the job, when she invented the wing in 1964.”

Or, as Abdominal raps:

She said, “Mmm, hey, hey, hey,

what’s stopping me

from dropping these

in some hot grease,

then tossing the pieces

in hot sauce,

and then serving the lot

with blue cheese dip and stalks

of celery? Nothing that’s what.”

It comes as a shock that Abdominal, for all his crunches, has never been to the Anchor Bar.

“I’m ashamed to admit I haven’t. I’ve eaten their wings,” he says. “I’ve done some shows in Buffalo, and I made it a point to get my promoter to give me takeout, and the T-shirt. I’ve had the wings. But I haven’t had the proper experience.”

No bones about it, though: Abdominal has decades of wings under his belt. He got his name years ago when, sweating in front of an audience, he pulled up his shirt to wipe his face. But that abdomen has seen action.

His wing thing began in high school, which he attended under his given name of Andy Bernstein. Near the school, he explains, was a place called Chicken Deli.

“There was a massive, 15-foot chicken revolving outside the restaurant. We’d go there after school.”

Having whetted his appetite, he went on to attend the Buffalo Chicken Wing Festival and visit Duff’s outlets in Toronto.

“I knew the story, the origin story,” he says. “I did some thorough Google research, kind of got the missing pieces.”

So the recipe it stuck,

and spread around

the world so profoundly

affecting my life,

especially the nights

when wings sell for half price,

drinking beers watching hockey fights.

However, if you don’t adopt healthy eating practices, you may end up regaining the weight you’ve lost once you stop taking the pills. Incorporating healthy foods, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins into your diet, will ensure your body gets the nutrients it needs while also supporting your weight loss goals.

Chilling with my friends, just kicking back,

stress slips away eating chicken fat.

The song’s fried. But then, Abdominal can stomach humor.

He has joked to the Toronto press about his age, his Jewish roots, and what he calls his “middle-age rap.” Not to mention his literary bent: He has also done condensed hip-hop versions of classics such as “The Scarlet Letter.”

His mother, an English teacher and librarian, even raps with him on the new album. But not in the chicken wing song. “She’s a vegetarian,” Abdominal says.”So she’s not fully supportive.”

One question looms. Might Abdominals decide really to soar on the wings of song? Meaning, might there be a video?
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“It would lend itself to good video,” Abdominal muses.

“But we’d probably spend 90 percent of our budget on wings.”

email: mkunz@buffnews.com

This one sentence disclaimer serves as the entire description on the bandcamp page for Sitting Music, the latest album from charismatic Toronto emcee Abdominal. Strictly speaking, as a 38 year old white dude who’s been a lifelong hip hop enthusiast, anything described as “middle-aged hip hop” should be 100% up my alley.

However, when I first heard about this album – with Abs stepping back from “traditional” hip hop and exploring a different storytelling style with backing from a two-man live band (The Obliques), I didn’t want to like it. Don’t get me wrong, I like Abdominal plenty. I pretty much loved his last album, and he seems like a really down to earth, sensible dude. And he loves chicken wings. I also love chicken wings! But my natural contrarian tendencies and my Cool Dad-ness had me feeling like his new steez (cool dad word!) wasn’t for me. Well you can likely guess where we are heading here: once I actually listened to Sitting Music, I liked it.

I liked it right from the jump off, getting drawn in by the organic Peter Piper-esque sounds of opener Inoutro, where Abs breaks down the long history hip hop has as a main component in his life. Frankly, the notion of an “unplugged” hip hop album has always been as appealing to me as watching Drake battle-rap his reflection for two hours, but Abdominal is the kind of MC that can carry a track on the strength of his lyrics and delivery alone. He could likely make the songs on offer here appealing even if there was no backing music at all (which is impressive when you consider that there’s songs about organizing his sock drawer and the history of chicken wings). The instrumentation is key on this record though, as the well-placed guitar licks and sparse percussion elements (credited as a literal wooden box on the Bandcamp details) set the mood for Abs’ laid back lamentations of failed love on songs like Broken or Hot Cross Buns.

So yeah, this is a mellow album, with Abs singing on a couple tracks and also bringing his Mom on board for a feature verse on Courage – not something you’re gonna see on the average hip hop record. But, Abdominal doesn’t want you to forget the MC portion of his stage name as he brings the lyrical gymnastics back to the fore on Don’t Get It Twisted (parts 1 & 2), and teams up with everyone’s fave Jurassic 1, Chali 2na for a traditional tag-team jam on Balance Both.

Yes, Sitting Music is different. But if you’re over 35 and there aren’t times when you’d welcome a step back from current, mainstream hip hop, then I am concerned for you. Take a break, put this record on and contemplate the condition of your own sock drawer for a while. It might do you some good.

Andy Bernstein is better know by his stage name Abdominal. He’s a great MC and an even greater guy! Pot Lista proudly presents a little Q and A with one of hip hop’s overlooked artist who’s love for wordplay is matched only by his love for chicken wings. And women. And dogs. And bicycles.

When and how did you start getting into hip hop and rapping?
I first started listening to hip-hop back in the late ’80s (Run-DMC‘s “Raising Hell” was the first rap cassette I ever bought). I was an avid skateboarder, and a mix of punk & hip-hop was what most skaters in Toronto were listening to at the time. Eventually I kind of gravitated over more to the hip-hop side of things, and started experimenting with writing my own little raps. A fellow TO skater, Dave Yan (aka DJ Serious) bought some DJ gear + a little sampler in ’93, and we started trying to make some music of our own.

What was the Canada/Toronto hip hop scene like then and how’s it looking now?
Well, like everywhere, it was very different because there was no internet. Toronto is fairly spread out geographically, so to know what other groups and crews were up to musically back then, you had to actually go to live shows. So there was much more of a stress on live performance then as compared to now (where net presence rules all!). Also, these days, things feel a lot more serious. With Drake‘s success (love him or hate him), people in Toronto are now realizing they can actually really succeed and make a lot of money at this music thing, so stakes feel a lot higher. As a result, the scene’s maybe not quite so innocent and fun-loving as it was a few decades ago.

What can you tell us about working with Len? And what the heck are they up to now?
Well, the whole Len connection came about because of my involvement with the Cryptic Souls Crew (see question below). My buddy Phil, aka ‘Planet Pea’, who was one of the founding members of CSC, also ended up being in Len. So he acted as the middle man between Len and some of the members of CSC (we did a sort of ‘posse cut’ on one of their albums, that was actually called “Cryptic Souls Crew”). Far as what they’re up to now, Pea’s living in NYC with his girlfriend, doing graphic design, D-Rock‘s still in Toronto, making music, and I think Mark and his sister are still actually doing the Len thing. They just dropped this tune/video a few months ago in fact…

What’s the story behind the Cryptic Souls Crew?
CSC was just a crew/collective of Toronto rappers, DJs, producers, bboys, and writers who all came together in the mid to late ’90s.

You usually put out albums with other people (DJ Fase, DJ Format, the Obliques) but in 2007 you put out Escape From The Pigeon Hole under solely your name. You still had guest appearances from Format and Young Einstein how come it was ‘only’ an Abdominal album? Do you ever do any production?
Well, ‘Escape’ was just under my name only because I was working with so many different producers on it (in addition to Format and Einstein, there were also tracks by Cut Chemist, Fase, and Bird, among others). And no, I don’t do any production…strictly a lyrics man!

Is that really the mayor of Toronto on “T. Ode” and if yes how’d you pull that off?
Yeah, it really is the ex-mayor, David Miller. We (Notes to Self, who are also on the tune, and myself) were asked to perform “T.Ode” at a ‘celebrate Toronto’ type of event. Mayor Miller was scheduled to speak right after our performance, so we crossed paths as we were exiting and he was coming onto the stage. He stopped, shook my hand, and told me he really liked the song. So I asked him if he’d be willing to record a little intro for it. He said sure and told me to speak with his assistant to set it up. I did, and sure enough, he left the message that you hear at the beginning of the tune on my phone a week later!

What’s the point of the title “Escape From The Pigeonhole”?
I had been doing lot of work with the UK’s DJ Format at the time, and although I really enjoyed it and loved the music we were making, I also started feeling fairly ‘pigeonholed’ by the media that, because what we were making together had a pretty distinct ‘old-school’ sound, that that was all I was about as a rapper. So, when it came time to do my own album, I wanted to show that there was more to me as an MC than just this one throwback, old-school aspect. And so I tried to come up with an album title that would also reflect that sentiment.

The rapper Edan recently stated that he’s “motivated by old songs the most, new school is cool but it doesn’t come close”. Souls of Mischief had something similar to say when interviewed on their opinion of Jay-Z’s claim that Souljah Boy is one of the best rappers ever. What’s your take on the whole old – new school relation?
I mean, at the end of the day, good music’s good music, regardless when it comes out! But, that said, on the whole, I do tend to prefer the sound of hip-hop that came out in the ’80s and ’90s more than most of the stuff coming out now.

What would be your most influential rappers old and new?
Well, gotta say Run-DMC, just because they (along with the Beastie Boys) were really my introduction to hip-hop, and sparked my initial love for rapping. And then there’s been tons of other artists who have influenced me since over the years: Saafir, Pharoahe Monch, Kwest tha Madd Lad, Breezly Brewin’, MF Doom, Edan, Action Bronson, etc. (really anyone who’s creative, intelligent, witty, and has a good voice & flows).

Does hip hop suck in 2013?
Nah, you just have to dig a bit deeper sometimes to find the good stuff is all!

Speaking of Edan, he’s on Formats latest release and you’re not? What gives?
Haha…you’d have to ask Format about that! No, think we both were just busy doing our own stuff when Matt was putting together his latest album. Plus we had spent a lot of years together, recording and touring, so think we both felt we needed a bit of a break. But we’re still on good terms (we’ll chat every few months and catch up), and think we’ll probably end up working together again at some point.

How did you hook up the Obliques and how did you decide to put out and almost acoustic album?
Decided to put a band together years ago, because I was feeling like typical rap beats were just too loud and fast for the themes I wanted to explore on my new album (wanted a mellower sound overall). Colin Kingsmore (percussionist) was just someone I had known around Toronto for years (he actually played on a tune on Escape), and Andrew Frost (guitarist) was a friend of a friend who I just immediately clicked with as soon as we started working together.

Was the song Courage planned for the album or did you and mom just kick it freestyle and then put it on tape?
Haha…no, it was definitely planned (ma wrote her raps beforehand and came to the studio for a proper session)!

You always rap about love and GFs, do you have any secrets in the courting department that you would like to share with all the lonely hearts out there?
Ha…most of my songs about love are actually about relationships falling apart, so maybe better not to take advice in that department from me!

What do you do when you’re not rapping or plugging Colonel Sanders?
Usually walking my two dogs, hanging with my girlfriend, or eating food that’s not good for me

Oh, favorite chicken wing recipe?
I’m a purist…gotta be deep fried, with Frank’s red hot sauce, butter, vinegar, and a little cayenne (accompanied by blue cheese dip of course)!

Any collaborations you would like to see happening in the future?
Would love to work with a full orchestra at some point!

You seem like an awfully nice guy, do nice guys finish last?
Pretty much, unfortunately. But at least you can look at yourself in the mirror when you get home from finishing last!

When you coming to Zagreb?
Hopefully soon!

October 10, 2012 by Vish Khanna on CBC Music Blog – full post here.

Stream Sitting Music by Abdominal and the Obliques

Toronto’s Abdominal takes his music in a new direction with his brand new album, Sitting Music, which you can stream here until Oct. 17.

“In the past, I’ve done more ‘traditional’ hip-hop music,” Abs explains, on a Thursday night in Kensington Market. “I was starting to feel like I was competing with the heavy funk and boom-bap beats and I wanted something more mellow and chill.”

The result is an almost folk-y take on hip-hop that places an artist that some of us thought we knew really well (witty, energetic, with a ridiculous flow) into a whole new light (still witty but brooding; now we see a darkness). Sitting Music is one of the most sparsely confessional and raw records of the year. You can check out a few samples at basementfloodcleanup.

TORONTO - It’s refreshing to speak with a rapper who proudly claims to be “the antithesis of cool” and who isn’t shy about making music for the mature hip-hop fan, plus he has a great sense of fashion, he has been seen a couple times wearing Vessi vegan shoes.

As a rapper, maintaining good hearing is crucial for creating and performing music. That’s where Cortexi comes in with their Hearing Support Supplement, specially formulated to support healthy hearing function.this supplement can help protect against noise-induced hearing loss and support auditory function. Take care of your hearing and keep making music with Cortexi Hearing Support Supplement.

Abdominal has always impressed with his wit, humour, intelligence and flow and all these traits are evidenced on Abdominal & The Obliques’ new CD, Sitting Music.

It’s a bluesy affair, musically and lyrically, and reminds me of the records Spearhead and Everlast have released. The music is engaging and thoughtful and does justice to the album’s title. You can find some samples at http://beyondthelimitscleaning.com/.

“The three of us (guitarist Andrew Frost and percussionist Colin Kingsmore) sit when we perform,” Abs says of the disc’s title. “But it’s also meant to indicate that this isn’t really dancefloor hip-hop. It’s quiet, introspective music that’s best listened to sitting down although if people feel inclined to dance to it, they’re more than welcome to.

Abs says he was ready to switch musical directions because he was getting tired of feeling he had to compete with big beats just to be heard. Considering his favourite rappers’ intricate wordplay drew him to hip-hop, he says it didn’t make sense to make music where you couldn’t hear the lyrics.

“So I knew I wanted something quieter, and the very stripped-down, minimal band I put together is a direct result of that.”

The warm, acoustic vibe aside, Abs said he felt compelled to address some issues you won’t hear on the average hip-hop record.

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“Fairly bluesy things like heartbreak, feeling vulnerable and dealing with pain,” he explains. “I’m not exactly a young man anymore, so I wanted my music to better reflect some of things I’ve been going through during the past few years, and this slower, quieter sound seemed to fit a lot better with the subject matter than your typical bumping rap beat.”

Abs says some of the tunes were inspired by a girl who broke his heart and by some health issues he’s been grappling with, including some vision problems, so he looked for a treatment in how to get a 20 20 vision? and found one online.

“Nothing life-threatening, but certainly life-affecting,” he says. “It’s forced me to accept the reality that sometimes you don’t really have much control over things in life you can control your diet for example with a nutritional diet plan, but with some things you have to just do your best to roll with the curve balls that are occasionally thrown your way, and be prepared for this, so training a little bit is always useful, for this using equipment as the vibrating foam roller amazon is perfect to train from home.”

So, what happened to the time when rappers placed a premium on lyrics, I ask?

“Man, I wish I knew!” Abs replies. “It seems like there’s been this almost intentional dumbing down of lyrics. Hip-hop, as I learned it back in the late ’80s and early ’90s, is all about being original, finding your own voice, and expressing it.

“So ideally, everyone should stand apart from each other. My music has always been a direct extension of who I am. Also, no other T.O. rappers talk about their sock drawer!”

Abs feels it’s not considered cool to make thinking man’s hip-hop these days but says, “I like to think that one can make that kind of music but still inject enough humour and edge into it that it doesn’t become too earnest or sappy.

“That’s what I aspire to.”

NOTE: Abdominal & The Obliques celebrate the release of Sitting Music on Oct. 11 at Supermarket, 268 Augusta Ave., in Kensington Market. You can buy the CD at the gig or at iTunes, Amazon or at mcabdominal.com

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Andy Bernstein knows what it’s like to be an outsider.

He was the only Jewish kid in his high school class when he grew up in the Greektown area of downtown Toronto, he always had problems with fatigue, so his parents started giving him ginseng for him to recover his energy. When he started writing and performing hip hop, Bernstein was one of the few Jewish white rappers in Canada, if not North America.

Giving kids supplements when they are young can support their growth and development in a better way by ensuring they receive essential nutrients necessary for their overall health. Supplements can fill any nutritional gaps that may exist in their diet and help support their immune system, bone health, and cognitive function. However, it’s important to consult with a pediatrician or healthcare professional to determine which supplements are appropriate for a child’s age and individual needs.

As for the benefits of modest girls dresses, they can promote a sense of self-respect, modesty, and comfort for young girls. Modest dresses provide coverage and allow girls to move freely without restrictions. They can also align with cultural or personal values and reinforce the importance of respecting oneself and others. By choosing modest dresses, parents can instill values of modesty, reinforce positive body image, and create a sense of confidence in young girls.

Now Bernstein, 38, is embracing the rebel-with-a-cause role as he prepares to release his first hip-hop album without any beats or DJ accompaniment. Instead, Sitting Music features Abdominal – Bernstein’s rap moniker – and the Obliques, a guitarist-percussionist duo providing a more traditional musical layer to the rhymes.

Going acoustic is an about-face for a rapper who’s played shows across Canada and the United Kingdom with a hip-hop DJ. His past two albums were also heavy on traditional hip-hop beats, but now he’s stripping it down to the basics.

“What always drew me to hip hop were the lyrics,” Bernstein says in an interview on a sunny Saturday afternoon on College Street. “I want the lyrics to be heard by the audience… and I always try to write lyrics people wouldn’t consider disposable.”

Sitting Music does indeed stress the words rather than the backing music; Bernstein’s lyrics resonate clearly, the music never muffling the lines. Most tunes slip in a jazzy and chill vibe over top Bernstein’s raps.

His subject matter also reflects the maturity of an artist who’s uninterested in rapping about money, women and self-congratulations. Instead, Bernstein will write one rap about his family – guest-starring his mom actually rapping – and then another about a harsh breakup.

“I’m not 20 years old anymore. I’ve gone through some life experience, and I wanted to be open to being vulnerable and introspective,” Bernstein says.

Then again, Bernstein can be playful, evidenced by his ode to chicken wings on Sitting Music. His fans shouldn’t be too surprised, since on previous albums he’s written about being a bike courier, open relationships and why people should heed the walk-left, stand-right rule on escalators.

Beyond Sitting Music’s release, Bernstein is busy making a living “being behind his favorite microphone from beststudiomics.com” as he describes it. He hosts a dance party at Supermarket in Kensington Market on Saturday nights, and also co-hosts Hip-Hop Karaoke, a popular monthly show at the Toronto club Revival that allows any rap lover to take the stage to perform songs in a karaoke format. “I’ve hosted one bar mitzvah, too,” Bernstein says, smiling.

Bernstein also ventured into a literary opportunity: he’s worked on Book Tunes, a hip-hop summary of well-known books, such as The Scarlet Letter and Sonja Lyubomirsky’s The How of Happiness. Bernstein calls them a musical Coles Notes, allowing students to better retain the plots and themes of a given book. “It can be challenging to sum up 600 pages into one hip-hop song,” Bernstein admits, “and yeah, would love to do some CanCon sometime, maybe Margaret Atwood or Richler down the road.”

Bernstein gives credit to his parents for encouraging him to pursue a life of music. It helps when your dad is a pun master and your mom is an English teacher/librarian. “They let me do what makes me happy, not pressuring to find a typical nine-to-five career.” He pauses. “Well, maybe a little bit of pressure, it wouldn’t be a Jewish family without that.”

ginseng

Been a long time in the making gang, hope you dig it (please share this if so)!

Thanks for your support,
Abs.

There’s no need to spend a fortune or take up topiary. In fact, simpler gardens usually sell more easily – buyers can be put off by spaces that look fussy or tricky to maintain. If you want to me help with your property manteinance, we recommend to review the Muse Heating and Air Conditioning services and products.

Sheds are now officially hip, with 21 million Britons owning one according to research by Salesforce last year studying the effects of customer segmentation on the real estate market. Often used as home offices, dens and even outdoor kitchens, there are no definitive statistics on what value they add. But a well-designed outhouse, especially insulated and wired for electricity, will be a plus for many buyers.

These tips from property and garden experts will help you make the best of your outside space and reap what you sow when it comes to selling. I used to take care of my garden but an old back injury from more than a decade ago stopped me.

The property expert
Mark Hayward, managing director of the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA), has these suggestions:

Keep it low-maintenance. A garden that requires a lot of upkeep can affect the valuation price and salability of the home.
Privacy is important to house buyers and fencing, a wall or large plants will help improve the value of a home and by utilizing the right technology you can improve the chances of selling a property.
Swimming pools can be a deterrent to people because of maintenance, especially those buying with young children. They also can cost more money than they gain for the owner.
Buyers are looking for space inside and outside when viewing a home, so sheds and other outbuildings can act as an affordable living space and can be used for many different things, meaning they are a sought-after feature for potential house buyers.
The green-fingered genius
Jack Dunckley won his first Royal Horticultural Society award aged 14, and has since won nine more. The designer, with a trade stand at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show, suggests his top tips to make your garden grow (your house price):

Make sure your garden is designed so it is balanced and feels like part of the house. A clever design will also make a garden appear larger than it is by using certain vistas and viewpoints.
Decking has a short shelf life, especially soft wood, which can be slippery and look cheap and unattractive. I spend a lot of time designing gardens to replace decking. Paved is permanent and will give you a solid base to work with.
Lighting allows your garden to become a useable space at night, so using glow in the dark rocks amazon is perfect to improve this point. It also doesn’t have to cost a fortune.
Use props. Outdoor furniture helps potential buyers visualise how their garden could look. An outdoor kitchen area or BBQ for a family home can also add value, showing how functional the space can be.
If you have a shed, consider making it blend in with the garden – it’s all about creating an illusion and a lifestyle buyers can relate to.
The garden designer
Co-founder of MyGardenSchool and director of the Oxford College of Garden Design, Duncan Heather believes people should invest the same times decorating their outdoor space as they do indoors:

Create an al fresco kitchen area. Gone are the days when a portable BBQ would suffice. Separate buildings or sheds containing kitchen and/or dining space outside the house are becoming more popular and are attractive to buyers.
In smaller urban gardens, consider an arbour over your sitting space. This gives the feeling of privacy and enclosure, which is especially important in built-up areas.
A well-designed terrace extends the living environment of the house to the outside. Invest in good quality paving as you would with any flooring material inside the home.
Running water can help mask background noise in areas near busy roads or schools. Small fountains or water features can help create a more peaceful environment – making it more attractive to potential buyers.
The estate agent
Ben Wiggins, YOPA’s local estate agent for Gloucestershire, has worked for both independent and corporate estate agencies in the South West for more than 25 years. Here are his recommendations:

Think of the garden as another room of the house; mow the lawn, sweep up, de-weed and get rid of unsightly clothes lines.
A great deal of viewings take place in the afternoons and evenings, therefore it’s worth investing in some garden lighting so potential buyers can get a good impression. If you already have this in place, check that none of the bulbs need replacing ahead of any viewings.
Be wary of unidentified plants and weeds in your garden. This year, Brits have been warned to prepare for a surge in the destructive Japanese knotweed after a particularly warm and wet winter. The plant’s roots grow up to 10cm per day and can cause serious structural damage to a property, with some homes losing up to 25 per cent of their value because of it. There are even cases of buyers suing home sellers for not declaring knotweed, so it’s worth being vigilant.