When you’re preparing to sell your home, you’ll want to make the first impression count. This is true for the professional photos you take of the home, of course, but you’ll also want those curb appeal improvements to stay in place till the buyers walk up for a tour, since you want them to see that, in person, the house is even better than expected. Luckily, most homes can be spruced up quite simply, especially if you weren’t landscaping the property heavily before deciding to sell. Here are some easy and impactful ways to improve your curb appeal just in time for the house to hit the market.
Update the Front Door and Front Step
One focal point of any buyer’s visit to your home is the front door and front step – this is, after all, where they’ll wait for you or your agent to let them in. Making sure that the door has functional features, looks recently painted or clean, and is a modern-looking style is well worth your time. Also, pay lots of attention to the front step, porch, or landing area in front of the front door. No leaf or stick should be out of place, since every bit of cleanliness counts toward curb appeal when this area looks very tidy and beautiful.
Get a Trusted Landscaper to Give Everything a Trim and Add Greenery
Landscaping companies who help with lots of real estate sales know just what services will take an ordinary but perhaps slightly untidy yard to looking ready to sell quickly. Just a few strategic improvements can turn your fine-but-not-great yard into something that really draws the eye when you get into the real estate market in earnest. The goal is to make everything look recently addressed and up-to-date; rather than adding a bunch of expensive large trees, focus on native plants that add a uniform and tidy look without costing an arm and a leg. Your experienced landscaper is also a great resource on plants that will continue to look good for a good long while without creating lots of additional maintenance costs.
Make Repairs to Siding and Shingles
Siding and shingles are two places where it’s easy to glaze your eyes over the issues if you have seen your home for a while. Before sale, you want to make your curb appeal as high as possible, and to a prospective buyer, siding and shingles are intensely noticeable. Get a professional to replace or repair any shingles and siding that are askew; this will also keep the home from letting unneeded water in, where damage could occur. Even one or two small defects in the home’s exterior can open the potential buyer’s mind to the possibility of interior damage or pests, so a great exterior curb appeal is actually doing a lot of additional work in creating peace of mind.
If Needed, Add a New Coat of Paint
For painted homes, it’s wonderful to invest in your curb appeal by choosing to get your house painted. Faded, damaged, or dirty paint can really add a drab look to a home that otherwise is wonderful, and could dim the enthusiasm of a potential buyer. Whenever you’re ready to sell, talk to your real estate agent to determine whether a coat of paint would be the right curb appeal boost for your home’s quick sale. If you’re getting estimates for a full-home painting for the home, consider whether a different color or the same color would be most likely to attract more buyers. The aim is to be harmonious with the rest of the neighborhood but not exactly identical to your neighbor’s home, unless that just happens to be the color for all the homes around you. Choosing a paint color carefully can also help your curb appeal really shine.
Pressure Wash House, Walkways, and Driveway
A good weekend project is to rent or borrow a pressure washer and clean the house, the walkways, and the driveway. Concrete looks much better after a thorough cleaning and can give off the vibe of a newer home even if your home isn’t all that new. This is well worth the effort, but make sure you use the washer correctly to avoid damaging the side of your home.