Turning Up Your Curb Appeal

Your home has served you well in the times you have occupied its walls and dwelled under its roof… or maybe it hasn’t and your happy to leave dust trails on your way out. Either way you’re moving out but before you can leave, at least if you don’t want to be paying two mortgages, you need to sell your house. Which means you need to prepare your house to be sold. No matter how fabulous the inside of your home maybe it won’t get sold unless you can get prospective buyers through the front door, and you definitely won’t get the best deal possible unless you get as many people as possible through the front door. Which means it’s time to work on your curb appeal.

Let’s start with the obvious. Get rid of the trash! I’m not saying you have actual trash in your yard. I mean no shade if you do (a little shade if you do) but there’s going to be some stuff that you don’t want visually cluttering up the lawn and thus the presentation of your home. This could mean fallen leaves and branches of trees to larger things like old yard equipment, old broken things you never got around to getting rid of.  At least get it out of the front yard so that the inside has time to speak for itself before people see the disaster area in the back.

Make some fixes! People like things to feel new, especially when they are buying it. There’s a certain charm about old or antique things however that charm dissipates when it looks like it may fall apart. So, the next step is to fix up anything that looks broken or raggedy overly worn on the front of the house. Loose gutters, beat up shutters, noticeably messed up blinds in the windows, anything noticeably broken and obviously not cute. Go across the street and really look at the house, try not to creep out your neighbors.

Spruce it up! A new coat of paint makes a world of difference. Things can be in perfectly good shape but still look old and dilapidated. Time and wear can make things look gross and dirty. All of that can be easily fixed with fresh paint, helping buyers see past the worn color and bring out the quality.

Pay attention to details. You want the property to look cared for. When something looks properly cared for it’s a signal that it’s in good shape and worth spending money on. That well maintained look we’re going for is achieved by looking at the details. Trim your hedges, maintain your garden, if you don’t have those maybe you should put in some hedges and throw in a plot of flowers. Tamed foliage in your yard says to people looking at it that you care. Fix cracks in your driveway and walkway, clean the windows, power wash the façade and front porch. Make people want to approach the house.