Selling Your Home in a Down Market?Curb Appeal Counts Extra!
When you're selling a home you have one chance to make a positive impression on buyers, and it all starts when they pull up in front of your home.
Just like meeting someone for a first date or walking in the door for a job interview, the first few seconds when prospective buyers see your home set the tone for the rest of the showing.
As real estate agent that has worked with many buyers, I can tell you for a fact that some buyers will skip homes based solely on the curb appeal.
For homeowners in the situation of needing to sell in this buyers market it is more important than ever that buyers love your home from the moment they lay eyes on it.
Before you even consider listing your property for sale, take a drive and look at some of the competition.
Compare how they look from the exterior and be honest with yourself! Overlooking the curb appeal is one of the most common mistakes I see homeowners make.
While your yard doesn't need to be showroom perfect it does need to look groomed and clean and the rest of your of your home needs to be in good repair.
Junk in the yard, overgrown grass, and bushes obscuring the windows will all detract from what the buyers perceive as the value of your home.
Curb Appeal Fix #1 -- Remove all the clutter.
The first thing to do is get rid of any of the stray items hanging around your yard.
All those things that never seem to have a place need to go somewhere.
The idea here is to get your yard looking as open as possible and well maintained.
Get rid of any tires, building materials, car parts or any of those other things that you know you can't bear to part with, but haven't moved in three or four years.
Curb Appeal Fix #2 -- Get the lawn in good shape! This is of course easier in the spring and fall months and a bit of a moot point during the winter, but do what you can to make the lawn look sharp.
Get on a good mowing schedule and in the drier months water deeply and regularly to keep the grass looking healthy and green.
Take extra care to edge a long any hard scape and get rid of as many weeds as possible.
Again, you are trying to give the impression to the buyers that the property is well maintained and that if it is well maintained on the outside, it must be great on the inside.
Curb Appeal Fix #3 -- Clean up the planting areas.
In all those non-lawn areas, take care to pull out any weeds and cut back or remove any plants that are dead, dying or on their way out the door.
The planting areas are probably the most often neglected parts of the yard.
Once you have everything cleaned out, order in a load of bark or mulch and put a generous layer down.
Just this alone will go a long way toward setting your home apart from the competition.
Curb Appeal Fix #4 -- Trim back the bushes.
One of the other big no-no's is bushes that have gotten overgrown and are pushing into walkways or obscuring the house itself.
Take a minute to consider if any of your your plants fall into this category and if you should trim them back or remove them completely.
You want buyers to be able to see your home when they pull up on the street.
Curb Appeal Fix #5 -- Wash your house and windows.
Now that all the yard work is done, give your home one last scrub down.
A soft brush on a long handle, soapy water and a hose will help get any road dirt, dust or marks from where the local birds have dive bombed your home.
Washing down the screens and cleaning the windows will finish off a quick curb appeal makeover.
A bonus tip is that for washing your windows; you don't need expensive cleaner but can mix up your own using water, vinegar, and one or two drops of dish soap.
It is much cheaper this way and works just as well! By now your home should look significantly better from the street and will be more likely to get buyers inside to take a look at what your home has to offer.
After people have done all this work, I'm often asked the question 'does this mean I can ask for more money?' Like most of the work that needs to be done to home prior to listing, improving the curb appeal will not increase the value.
However, a home with poor curb appeal will be less competitive and will warrant a lower selling price in the minds of buyers.
Consider this, a weekends worth of cleaning up, a few hundred dollars in landscape material and plants will improve your odds of selling your home in a timely manner and help keep buyers from discounting your home.
Just like meeting someone for a first date or walking in the door for a job interview, the first few seconds when prospective buyers see your home set the tone for the rest of the showing.
As real estate agent that has worked with many buyers, I can tell you for a fact that some buyers will skip homes based solely on the curb appeal.
For homeowners in the situation of needing to sell in this buyers market it is more important than ever that buyers love your home from the moment they lay eyes on it.
Before you even consider listing your property for sale, take a drive and look at some of the competition.
Compare how they look from the exterior and be honest with yourself! Overlooking the curb appeal is one of the most common mistakes I see homeowners make.
While your yard doesn't need to be showroom perfect it does need to look groomed and clean and the rest of your of your home needs to be in good repair.
Junk in the yard, overgrown grass, and bushes obscuring the windows will all detract from what the buyers perceive as the value of your home.
Curb Appeal Fix #1 -- Remove all the clutter.
The first thing to do is get rid of any of the stray items hanging around your yard.
All those things that never seem to have a place need to go somewhere.
The idea here is to get your yard looking as open as possible and well maintained.
Get rid of any tires, building materials, car parts or any of those other things that you know you can't bear to part with, but haven't moved in three or four years.
Curb Appeal Fix #2 -- Get the lawn in good shape! This is of course easier in the spring and fall months and a bit of a moot point during the winter, but do what you can to make the lawn look sharp.
Get on a good mowing schedule and in the drier months water deeply and regularly to keep the grass looking healthy and green.
Take extra care to edge a long any hard scape and get rid of as many weeds as possible.
Again, you are trying to give the impression to the buyers that the property is well maintained and that if it is well maintained on the outside, it must be great on the inside.
Curb Appeal Fix #3 -- Clean up the planting areas.
In all those non-lawn areas, take care to pull out any weeds and cut back or remove any plants that are dead, dying or on their way out the door.
The planting areas are probably the most often neglected parts of the yard.
Once you have everything cleaned out, order in a load of bark or mulch and put a generous layer down.
Just this alone will go a long way toward setting your home apart from the competition.
Curb Appeal Fix #4 -- Trim back the bushes.
One of the other big no-no's is bushes that have gotten overgrown and are pushing into walkways or obscuring the house itself.
Take a minute to consider if any of your your plants fall into this category and if you should trim them back or remove them completely.
You want buyers to be able to see your home when they pull up on the street.
Curb Appeal Fix #5 -- Wash your house and windows.
Now that all the yard work is done, give your home one last scrub down.
A soft brush on a long handle, soapy water and a hose will help get any road dirt, dust or marks from where the local birds have dive bombed your home.
Washing down the screens and cleaning the windows will finish off a quick curb appeal makeover.
A bonus tip is that for washing your windows; you don't need expensive cleaner but can mix up your own using water, vinegar, and one or two drops of dish soap.
It is much cheaper this way and works just as well! By now your home should look significantly better from the street and will be more likely to get buyers inside to take a look at what your home has to offer.
After people have done all this work, I'm often asked the question 'does this mean I can ask for more money?' Like most of the work that needs to be done to home prior to listing, improving the curb appeal will not increase the value.
However, a home with poor curb appeal will be less competitive and will warrant a lower selling price in the minds of buyers.
Consider this, a weekends worth of cleaning up, a few hundred dollars in landscape material and plants will improve your odds of selling your home in a timely manner and help keep buyers from discounting your home.
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