How is your home’s curb appeal? Is your home ready to sell? You never get a second chance to make a first impression and it’s the same when it comes to showing your home to potential buyers. We’ve got 5 tips for upping your home’s curb appeal!
Your home’s exterior is the first thing people see when searching for a new house, so must make it appealing to the largest audience possible.
So we’ve put together a list of 5 quick tips that will make your home’s curb appeal all it can be!
CUT THE GRASS AND CLEAN YOUR GARDEN
Cutting the grass seems like a really obvious tip, but we’re putting this at #1 on our curb appeal checklist.
Ragged, unkempt yards can scare people into thinking, “If their lawn looks like that, what’s the inside going to look like?”
Believe me when I say it’s worth it to take an afternoon and clean up the yard.
Dig up the weeds that might be taking over your grass, edge the flower beds; clean up walkways and prune the bushes, trees and flowers to a nice manageable size.
If you’ve got some dead patches of grass that stand out in your lawn, take the time to dig out the dead areas and replace with either seed or sod. A lawn is cheap to fix and makes a big difference.
We want potential buyers to think “Wow! They’ve really taken good care of this place” when they see your front yard.
GIVE YOUR HOUSE SOME COLOUR
A pop of colour is an easy way of grabbing the buyer’s attention, and it gives your home some character.
Adding new colour could be something as simple as adding a few healthy potted flowers to your front porch (don’t let them get wilted – water, water, water), hanging a visually appealing wreath, or something more dramatic like painting your front door.
Choose colours that compliment the rest of your home’s exterior; brick, siding, garage, etc.
Remember now is not the time to paint your door that electric shade of orange you’ve been in love with since the sixth grade!
Find and use colours that will appeal to a wider range of buyers in your neighbourhood. That’s the key so let me repeat it again: use colours that will appeal to a wide range of buyers because the point is to sell your home, not to show off your colour-coordinating skills.
DRESS UP THE FRONT PORCH
If you are lucky enough to have a nice front porch on your house, there’s nothing worse than leaving it completely bare or using it as storage for recycling bins and garbage.
Instead, define the front porch as somewhere your potential buyers can imagine themselves spending their time.
You can put out a couple of simple outdoor chairs and cushions that welcome visitors to your entrance. Depending on the size, a small bistro-set might look great. You can add a simple urn of flowers near the door.
Larger porches might need more furniture in the proper size and scale.
Whether you have a front porch or not, a clean and simple front-door mat is perfect for people to wipe their shoes before entering your home. Avoid the “kitschy” novelty front door mats with silly sayings or pictures.
There’s no need to over-do it by cluttering up the space with accessories, but make sure the entrance is clean and welcoming – this is an absolute must!
CHECK ALL THE HOME HARDWARE
When was the last time you touched up your house numbers, entry lockset, mailbox or exterior light fixtures?
All of these areas of your home can add style and interest to your home’s curb appeal.
If they’re out of date or dingy, your home may not be conveying the look you think it should.
Perhaps it’s time to look at these parts of your home as a collective set rather than a mishmash of different styles.
There are so many types of house numbers, light fixtures and coordinating lock-sets you can take advantage of.
For example oil rubbed bronze might suit a more traditional looking home, whereas a brushed nickel looks more contemporary.
You have to look around your home, examine all the hardware and determine if it could be time to make a change to the look of your home and give it a more exciting look.
FEEL FREE TO LIGHT IT UP!
Making sure your home looks appealing in the evening with interesting lighting is just as important as during the day.
Dark houses can be intimidating to potential buyers and even scary looking, so show them how bright and cheerful your home can be at night!
Simple solar lights can be added to just about any garden or walkway, or you can use low-voltage uplighting on trees that can add a dramatic look to your entrance.
Make sure the exterior light fixtures are clean and free of cobwebs, and be sure to check that the lightbulbs still work. If you’re not sure get news ones because you don’t want them shorting-out when a home owner is viewing your home.
It doesn’t hurt to leave the outside lights on for a few hours in the evening too which will make your house look good. Simple outdoor light-timers are easy to install and take care of shutting things on/off if you forget.
Remember, some home buyers actually go and check out homes in the evening to see what they look like.
So there you have it! Five things you can easily do right now that will immediately help improve your home’s curb appeal.
As always, if you have any questions or would like to talk about listing your home today, feel free to get in touch with me!
