How to Boost the Curb Appeal of Your Home

by Trish Luzzi | Engel & Völkers Foothills Longtown

We tend to think of “staging a home” as an interior process, but staging a home to sell quickly and smoothly requires the exterior to be addressed as well. Boosting your curb appeal is just as much, if not more important than staging the interior of a home. It is the first impression buyers have when they arrive at the home with their Realtor, attend an Open House, or even just do a quick drive by.

Here are some of my favorite areas to address for curb appeal:

Landscaping:

You really want to make your yard look as best as it can to convey easy maintenance. If your yard looks tired, overgrown, or even needing more landscaping than it currently has, it can look like a large investment for the buyer before they even walk in the door. Cutting back trees or shrubs and adding fresh mulch will do amazing things and assist with outside photography. Flower boxes or bright flowers will also assist in that first impression and photos.

Paint your front door, shutters, and stain decks:

A fresh coat of paint always makes a good first impression. When picking colors, front doors can be bold to make a statement but use caution that it is a color that is trending that year and not too bright that it may turn off a buyer. You may also need to consider replacing your door or deck based on your budget to enhance appearance. Ensure you are looking at the door hardware as well, replace old door handles along with your new and fresh paint. All of this may be a quick way to enhance the exterior of your home over replacing entire doors, etc.

New house numbers and mailboxes:

Details that are enhanced before a house on the market go a long way when buyers are considering how they may live in that home. Replacing your house numbers or mailbox is a very cost-effective way tidy up areas that look tired. Ultimately, you are drawing the buyer in and telling them that you have taken care of the home and you have a desire to sell it - motivated sellers take note!

Lighting:

Install or upgrade your outdoor lighting to brighten the exterior of your home, walkways, driveway, and entryway. Take a step outside your home and consider the hard-to-see areas. Maybe this is something you haven't addressed before, but may now be a great way to boost curb appeal and make selling your home that much faster. Replacing old or damaged light coverings should also be part of your budget.

Clean the roof and gutters:

Taking care of debris on your roof or overflowing gutters is a must! Buyers will see moss and full gutters and assume annual maintenance is lacking both outside and inside the homeas. Remember, actions speak louder than words so when there is lack of action it is as if you are saying I haven't done anything to maintain this home.

Remove clutter and power washing:

Thin out your patio areas of clutter or tattered lawn furniture and pick up toys, bikes, kayaks, etc. The garage door and side entries should all be fully accessible and tidy. Power washing any decks, patio areas or homes is particularly important, again, to show that the home is low maintenance or that care has been made to upkeep the home. This allows potential buyers to begin imagining themselves in this home before they even enter the interior spaces.

In conclusion, I recommend placing importance on how the exterior of your home looks when prepping your home to list. Oftentimes, taking that step back to view your home through an unbiased lens will give you better insight into what you need to do to prepare and what potential buyers might compliment or criticize when analyzing if they should purchase your home. An experienced Realtor can do this walk with you as we are looking at it from a different set of eyes and can assist with what may be the right choices to make. Ultimately, as your real estate advisor I am here to help increase the value of your home as much as possible and help it sell faster.

If you have any question, let's chat!

Contact author of this blog and expert real estate advisor, Trish Luzzi, here: (828) 423-0248 | Trish.Luzzi@evrealestate.com