Selling Your Home? Curb Appeal Deserves Top Priority

Remember when you bought your house. If you're like most buyers, you did drive-bys of at least some houses before you asked your agent to show them to you. Do you remember what turned you off? Maybe an unkempt yard, faded or peeling paint, dirty windows?

Now that it's time for you to sell, don't make the same mistakes, because you'll only have one chance to make the first impression for potential home buyers. Improving your property's curb appeal is one of the most important things you must do before you attempt to sell it.

A large percentage of home buyers decide whether or not to look inside a house based on its curb appeal - the view they see when they drive by or arrive for a showing. You can help make sure they come inside your home by spending some time to freshen up its exterior appearance.

It's not a Home, It's a Commodity

It's difficult to look at your own house in the same way that potential home buyers do. When we become accustomed to the way something looks and functions, we often do not see its faults. You must stop thinking of the property as a home - it's a house - a commodity you want to sell for the highest price possible.

Be the Buyer

To determine what needs to be done to your home, start by taking some time to look at your house in a different light. Sit across the street from your home and look at it like you've never seen it before. Is the lawn unkempt? Is there any landscaping? Does the yard and landscaping look healthy? What about the house itself? Is it proportional? Is the roof sagging or warped? Are the gutters hanging in places? Are they overgrown with weeds or leaves? Does your porch desperately need repairs?

Don't Forget Evening Appeal

Do the curb appeal exercise again at dusk or just after dark because it's not unusual for potential buyers to drive by houses in the evening.

Lighting is Always a Plus

• String low voltage or solar lighting along your drive way, sidewalks, and around landscaping elements.
• Add a decorative street lamp or an attractive light fixture to a front porch.
• Lighting that's visible through front windows should enhance the home's appearance.

Don't Forget the Side/Back Yard

Buyers doing a drive by will try their best to see your side or back yard. If it's visible from another street or from someone's driveway, it should be a part of your curb appeal efforts.

Getting Started

Start with these basic curb appeal tasks:

• Kill mold and mildew on the house, sidewalks, roof, or driveway.
• Stow away unnecessary garden implements and tools.
• Clean the windows and gutters.
• Pressure wash dirty siding and dingy decks.
• Keep sidewalks and driveways clean.
• Edge sidewalks and remove vegetation growing between concrete sections and bricks.
• Mow the lawn regularly. Get rid of weeds.
• Rake and dispose of leaves, even if your lot is wooded.
• Trim tree limbs that are near or touching the roof.

Landscaping

There are times that adding elements to your landscaping can help curb appeal, but there are also times when removing something is more effective. Remove shrubs or bushes that have grown to the point where they hide the character of the house.

Most buyers cannot visualize changes, such as a removed overgrown bush, and often won't take a second look at a house if the first isn't appealing to them. Those who can visualize changes, and are prepared to make them, expect YOU to reduce the price of the house to compensate for the work.

Do not forget that you have to show buyers the best aspects of a property - you cannot expect them to imagine improvements on their own.

More Curb Appeal Ideas

• If you can budget it, a fresh paint job does wonders for a dingy house. Drive around your town to find color schemes that are appealing.
• How about a more attractive front door, maybe something with leaded glass inserts?
• If you can't justify the cost of a new door, consider fresh paint and replacing plain doorknob hardware with something more attractive.