Creating curb appeal is one of the most important steps to selling your home. Potential buyers will make a snap decision about your home. In less than a few seconds, they will have decided whether or not they’ll want to make an offer. Increase your curb appeal with just a few steps. Most of these ideas can be completed in a few days, so you don’t need tons of time to up the ante on your buyers’ first impressions of your home.
The idea behind curb appeal is to make your home look as though anyone would want to live there. Just as you would try to remove as much evidence of your family from the inside of your home, you want to remove this evidence from the outside of your home as well. You’ll also want to ensure that your home looks perfect—right down to every last detail.
1. Trim Your Greenery
One of the most important things you can do to increase your curb appeal is to trim any plants or greenery in your front yard. The main points to trimming your greenery include:
- Mow your lawn
- Trim the hedges
- Trim wild trees
- Rake the lawn
- Neaten up flower beds
- Remove any weeds
Simply completing these few steps can greatly improve your curb appeal. If potential buyers see an overgrown outside, they’ll assume the inside matches.
2. Paint Your House
If your home’s paint looks like it’s seen better days, make sure you update your paint. If your home has siding, consider replacing the siding. It might cost you a little bit extra to do this, but the results will be worth the pain.
If you don’t have time or money to paint your whole house, try to touch up a few of the worst areas. Make sure you match your paint exactly to the house paint. The worst thing you can do is paint your home with a shade that doesn’t match the rest of it.
3. Fix Your Walkway/Driveway
If your walkway or driveway has cracks or holes, it’s time to replace them. Replace any tiles that are chipped or cracked. If weeds are growing between tiles or path stones, trim your weeds as well. Nothing makes a home look like it’s in need of help like a safety hazard.
4. Add Some Color
There are plenty of ways you can dress up your home and add a little bit of color. If you don’t have the money to paint your whole house, consider painting just the front door. Drawing attention to the front door can help draw your buyers’ eyes away from any eye sores or damage.
Add some flower boxes to the front windows or a small garden to the front of your home. The added color will liven up your home and give it a fresh look. Potential buyers love seeing beautiful touches on a home.
5. It’s All in the Details
Make sure you pay attention to the details. You may have gone blind to the fact that your hardware is rusted, but your potential buyers will notice these details right away. Update any hardware that needs replacing. Fix the squeaky gate. Replace that shutter that’s hanging off its hinges. These things may seem trivial to you, but they will stick out like sore thumbs to potential buyers.
6. Light the Way
Create a little mood lighting in your front yard—even if you don’t plan on showing your home at night. Potential buyers often do “drive buys” before officially checking out a home. If potential buyers happen to drive by at night, you’ll want to wow them as much as possible. Lighting can add nice ambiance, show your buyers your home in a better light and add an element of safety to your driveway and walkway.
7. Clean and Replace Gutters
The last thing you want is to wow your potential buyers in every way—only to have your gutters start leaking as you’re showing your home. If your gutters are full of leaves, you’ll want to get rid of that mess too. Messy gutters will make your potential buyers think that your gutters are difficult to clean. You want everything to look perfect when potential buyers show up.
8. Pretty Up Your Porch
If you have a porch, you’ll want to gussy that up too. Painting your porch can give your home a whole new look and feel. It’s also less expensive that painting your entire home. If you have room for furniture, add a few pieces to your porch to give buyers and idea of what they could use the space for once the home is theirs.
9. Liven Up Your Mailbox
Don’t forget about your mailbox. Since most house numbers are on the mailbox, it may be the first thing potential buyers see in regards to your home. A well-kept mailbox can add a little something special to your home and impress buyers in only a few seconds.
