My poor grass...

[TeaPot40]

We are hoping to sell our house at some point so trying to get our garden looking nice. We have a large area of lawn that is just moss and dry soil. It's also crossed by large tree roots.. And to add to the mix my children have been playing football on it..
Is returfing once everything settles down the best way to deal with this? How will the tree roots affect that. They are large!
Or would grass seeds and keeping the kids and birds away be better.

Moss and dry soil sounds as if this is the area under the tree, so grass will always struggle. Would marking out a new edge of lawn and covering the dry area with bark chippings work? Or if selling in the autumn, planting it with Cyclamen hederifolium, which will tolerate the conditions.

Have you done some proper lawn care?

Scarify, aerate, seed, water.

I would try that. The seed comes up pretty quickly and in a few weeks you will know if it is working.

Won't the birds just eat the seeds?
Hoping that I can try and do it once lockdown is over as I have 2 big boys skidding all over the grass playing football every day

It wouldn’t put me off.