9 Tips to Kick Up Your Home’s Curb Appeal
If you are just listing your house it is important to make sure it has curb appeal that will help it stand out in a competitive market. After all, you want to get as much for your home as you possibly can. Alternately, if your house has been listed a while, but you are just not getting any bites, these tips for improving curb appeal might also be what you need to attract serious buyers.
1. Mow the Lawn – A nicely maintained lawn is very attractive to buyers. If there are bare spots use sod to fill them.
2. Power Wash – A power washer is quite inexpensive to rent for a day, if you don’t have your own. You probably only need it a few hours, so maybe your neighbor would like to split the cost and you both use it half a day. Clean the exterior of your home, as well as the driveway, walkways, and garage door.
3. Pull and Prune – Weeds need to be pulled from your flower beds and cracks in the driveway. You also need to deadhead spent flowers and trim your hedges and shrubs, so they are neat.
4. Freshen up the Door – Put a fresh coat of paint on the front door, if it needs it. You might even want to go with a color other than a neutral shade. If your storm door is on its last leg then replace it.
5. Flowers – A home with flowers in front just has a really welcoming feel. You may want to add a couple planters or hanging baskets to the porch, too.
6. Lighting – Swap that old fixture above your front door for an updated one. Make sure you have a few solar lights, as well, so your property looks spectacular when potential buyers drive by to check out the neighborhood when it’s dark.
7. Paint the House – Okay, painting a house is a much bigger job than painting a front door, but if the exterior of your home is getting in the way of selling then it is a project well worth the effort. Stick with neutral shades that will appeal to a large audience, such as light blue, blue-gray, creamy off-white, clapboard white, and warm taupe.
8. New Mailbox – Your mail box is essentially the first and last thing people see when they arrive to your home. If you don’t want to replace the mailbox at least put flowers around it for a warm welcoming.
9. Shutters – If the other homes in your neighborhood have shutters and trim, but you don’t, buyers may feel like your house is missing something, even though they might not realize what it is.
Addressing curb appeal is one of the easiest ways to add value to your home. Use these tips to determine what areas you can improve upon. It also helps to imagine you are looking at your house for the first time, and compare what you see to other properties in your neighborhood.