It's difficult to advise without seeing photos of the areas you're asking about.

Definitely remove the purple-leafed tree in front of the window.

A few feet in front of that are two young trees -- I'm guessing Kentucky coffeetrees? -- and others nearby. I doubt any of them should be saved.

Now, can you tell us about the large trees in the lawn on that side? The one farthest from the house looks like a magnolia. What's the green-leafed tree behind that, closer to the house? Is that the mother Kentucky coffeetree?

How wide is it from the edge of the driveway to the property line beyond the magnolia and other tree?

I have no idea what the green-leaved tree is, but something nearby must be the parent of all those saplings that I think are Kentucky coffeetrees, so check to see if the leaves match. Coffeetrees are either male or female, so whichever you have, there must be another nearby. (Unless I'm wrong and the saplings aren't coffeetrees. Do you see big fat seedpods like giant lima bean pods?)

I'm not sure what all you've got in the bed around the purple-leaved tree. There's something variegated (small white and green leaves) that could be worth keeping. The spiky bluish evergreen is some sort of juniper, and is a good thing to anchor the soil on the slope. You could add another juniper next to the stairs, but it probably wouldn't be the same variety as the one you already have -- plus it would be quite small for years.

Re. what to plant there, which direction does the house face? [If you aren't sure, look in Google Maps' satellite view; north is always at the top of the map.]

If you chop the purple tree at the soil line, the root system may make it difficult to plant anything in that bed. If you remove the stump and roots, get advice beforehand on the best way to go about that to minimize damage to the juniper's roots.

How large is the tiny area between the garage and the front steps? Is there dirt there or cement? If you can't put a plant there, perhaps a decoration.

I'm thinking that it doesn't matter too much what those seedlings are, main thing is they aren't wanted, so take them out. But for what it's worth, they might be Ailanthus.

I'm not sure I would remove that purple tree in front of the window. You could just thin it a little, or raise the canopy; maybe both. Judicious pruning would do a lot for the trees along the driveway too. Might be worth hiring someone.

But really, by next spring all these things will still not be so big as to be real deterrents to purchase... you could get away with just thinning and weeding. A new owner, with more invested in how the next few years in the house are spent, might be quite happy to make major decisions, including the big evergreen to the left of the garage.

KarinL