How To Improve The Curb Appeal Of Your Home
Let’s accept it, first impressions make a difference. Don’t you try to look your best when you go out on a first date? Or, do you buy clothes that don’t appeal to you in the first place? In fact, you always want to look impeccable and you can only buy stuff that creates a good first impression. Likewise, when you plan to sell your house, first impressions make a huge difference.
People spend so much money on the upkeep and appearance of their home’s interior, but do you make sure that it looks attractive from the outside as well? If not then you should start paying attention to your home exteriors, as it improves the curb appeal of your house.
In fact, what people get to see from outside either makes or breaks their impression. The same is true for your home as well.
So, what exactly is the curb appeal?
Curb appeal is a term generally used by realtors to evaluate a house or property that is up for sale. It is the attractiveness of a house or property when seen from the street. Interested home buyers first see a house from the street, and if it appeals to them, then they ask the realtor to move forward.
63% of prospective home buyers will come by to visit a house only after they like what they see online (National Association of Realtors).
This clearly means that the house they see from outside should generate sufficient interest among the potential home-buyers in the first place. What do they see from outside? The front entry, driveway, sidewalk and yard. Your home’s exterior should have the capacity to attract prospective home-buyers and bring them to the table for further negotiations.
Hence, the home exterior is the first thing that you need to work on and improve if you want to sell your house at a decent price.
So, what is it that you need to do?
Let’s Examine 9 Ways to Improve the Curb Appeal of Your Home
- Start thinking like a buyer – The first thing that you need to do is start thinking like a buyer. Grab a notepad and pen, and walk around the exterior of your home with a hawk eye to find out what could annoy a potential home buyer. Make note of things that you think needs replacement, repair, or cleaning. Take your car and drive down the street on both sides of your house, both during the day and night. You might just see a few things on the roof that you must remove, or a sidewalk that needs repair.
- Make sure your address number is visible, clean, and tastefully depicted – Address number is a small thing which many people tend to overlook, but has a tremendous effect on everyone who enters your home. If you write your number differently, then it generates more interest among prospective home-buyers. For example, if your house number is 428, you can write it as “four2eight”. Written numbers are a more stylish form of displaying your address.
- Ensure that your roof is clean and spotless – Many people think that a clean and spotless roof doesn’t improve the curb appeal of your home. That can’t be further from the truth. It creates a negative impact on the image of your home. Therefore, ensure that your roof is clean, free of streaks, and does not look dingy. Also, make sure that your roof isn’t missing shingles. Once you plan to sell off your house, see to it that your roof is cleaned, pressure washed, repaired, or replaced.
- Make your front door attractive and eye catching – Front doors are another thing that influence home-buyers. An attractive, eye-catching front door can impress your prospective buyers, and raise the value of your house. Make the entrance of your home more stylish. Paint it a bold color, and don’t forget to place a new cheery welcome mat in front of the entrance.
- Repaint the trim and shutters, and get a new mailbox – When you are repainting your front door, don’t forget to redo the trim and shutters. Also, try a new mailbox for your home. If yours is damaged or weathered, it could detract from the overall aesthetic.
- Get your sidewalk, driveway, and deck pressure washed – A dirty driveway, sidewalk, and deck can act as a spoiler for people who plan to buy your house. This is another important thing that you can do to improve the curb appeal of your house. Get your driveway, sidewalk, and deck pressure washed to make it sparkling clean. Don’t forget that someone’s first impression at times turns out to be their last one. This is not just cost efficient, but it is also very effective.
- Light up your porch, walking path, and landscape – Putting up lighting fixtures at the right places can bring out the best of what your home has to offer. Use them to draw the buyer’s eye to the most interesting aspects of your home, and away from the mundane parts.
- Place flower pots in front of the entrance – There are many plants (in a flower pot, of course) which you can place in front of your entrance. Put the flower pots in a symmetrical fashion, and spruce up your front yard with seasonal flowers.
- Get your home exterior painted – If you think your home’s exterior is worn out, then get it repainted by a professional painter. A freshly painted home exterior can be your best tool, in finding a buyer and receiving more offers.
Freshly done up home exteriors can greatly improve the curb appeal of your house, but it is not all that easy to spruce up your home exteriors in a jiffy. You need a lot of time, innovative ideas, and executional capabilities, besides experienced and trained manpower to change the face of your home from outside.
It is always advisable to hire professionals to improve the curb appeal of your house. Get in touch with The Paint Manager and make your home exteriors look attractive.
From repainting your home exteriors, pressure washing your sidewalks, driveway, and decks to the installation of a new mailbox, redoing your front door and roof cleaning, professionals at The Paint Manager are capable of providing a facelift to your home’s exterior just the way you would love to see it.
Most importantly, you should consult professionals at The Paint Manager for innovative ideas that can improve the curb appeal of your house.
Photo credit: Scott Webb: httpss://twitter.com/scotty_webb