Giving Your Home Curb Appeal
Curb appeal refers to the first impression a prospective real estate buyer gets when they drive up to your home. You want your home to have curb appeal, and there are several aspects of your home’s outward appearance that you’ll want to look their best:
Home Exterior and Siding
A good practice is to walk your neighborhood and compare other homes’ exteriors with
your own. Does your home look dirty? Do the siding colors look faded? If so, and you
have wood or fiber-cement siding, you may consider a paint job. In choosing paint, in
most cases you’ll want your colors to be neutral and to conform to other homes in the
neighborhood. This is not usually a good time to consider bold or garish colors. If your
existing paint looks acceptable, you’ll still likely want to do paint touch-up – especially
on the front of the home, and in eye-level areas.
If you have vinyl, brick or stone siding, you’ll want to consider pressure washing. A good pressure washing job is a relatively inexpensive way to help restore the clean look of your home’s exterior.
Does your front door look inviting? If not, you may want to think about a new coat of paint, new door hardware or other remedies to give your door more appeal. The rest of your front porch and entryway should also look neat and tidy. If you don’t have a plush door mat, this is a good time to consider buying one.
How do your windows look? Windows are a key feature that people notice as they approach and walk through homes. So you’ll want your windows to look clean – not only the glass, but also the trim.
Landscaping
Take a fresh look at your landscaping. Are there cost-effective things that you can do to
improve the landscaping around your home? Does your grass need re-seeding in certain
areas? If so, talk with people at your local landscaping store about the right products to
improve your grass. Do you have enough plants or bushes to prevent your yard from
looking barren? If so, consider buying and planting some inexpensive bushes. However,
we don’t recommend paying a lot of money to plant trees – you may not get your money
back.
Beyond planting new grass, flowers and bushes, a more cost-effective method to improve your landscaping can be to simply make the most of what you already have. Making sure your bushes are trimmed, grass is well cut and dead plants are removed can go a long way in giving your home’s exterior a neat appearance.
Backyard
You’ll want your backyard to appear neat and spacious. If you have a lot of extraneous
items in your backyard – such as swing sets, kids’ toys, etc. – you’ll likely want many of
these things removed. Such items can be distracting and can make your yard look smaller
than it really is. In addition, if you have a deck or screen porch, you’ll want to thoroughly
wash this before you begin showing your home. Finally, if you have a pool, you should
also make sure it looks as neat and clean as possible.
