First Impressions (Curb Appeal) when Selling a Home
The object is to sell your house quickly. You have done all of your homework; homes in your area are selling at a normal pace, your price is reflective of fair market value, the inside is clean and free of clutter, the dogs are kept at a friends house, but no one is stopping by. Maybe it is time to go outside and take a look around.
Curb appeal is the overall first impression that your home makes on a prospective buyer. It is hard to impress upon most sellers just how many people will drive by, take that one critical look, and then keep on driving. All because of curb appeal. This may not be an easy subject to tackle. The seller has lived there for a while and is used to the way things look. Looks like it is time for a second opinion!
Take a long, hard, critical look at the exterior. Is it the shape of the house? The exposure? The power lines? Those things cannot be changed. But don’t worry; you bought it with those issues at hand. Surely that isn’t it. Let’s take a look at the material condition of the exterior.
First, take a walk down the street and compare it to other houses. Are there major repairs that need to be contemplated (new roof, repaint the exterior, mend the fence)? Or are you just looking at sprucing up the place. Here is a list of low costs but effective ways to jazz up your home:
1. Touch up the trim. Not a major undertaking, just break out the brush and fix those faded window casings.
2. Pressure wash the exterior. Rent a power washer and knock off the mildew on the shady side of the house. While you are at it, pressure wash the driveway and sidewalk.
3. Borrow your neighbors ladder and clean out those overflowing gutters. They really should be cleaned twice a year anyway to keep the system working as advertised.
4. Clean up the kids toys, remove the car on blocks, hide the trash can, and pick up the newspapers off the driveway. You get the idea. Get rid of the clutter!
5. Turn you eye towards the lawn. Keep it trimmed and neat. Plant flowers around the mailbox. Make room for a small herb or butterfly garden (great for stress anyway!).
6. Come up with your own ideas and consult your local real estate professional (it is their job, after all). Just keep the costs in check. Spend too much and the buyers might think that their maintenance costs are going to be too prohibitive.
Now is the time to take those exterior photos and have your agent post them on the MLS for all to see. You deserve to get full value for your home, but it is not going to come without some effort. Keep the exterior up, just as you would the inside, and you will see your traffic pick up. Now get those gardening gloves on and get busy!
Need some more ideas? Give us a call for an evaluation of your home. No strings attached, no hassle. You will be glad you did. Contact us today.
