While tidiness and attention to detail inside your home matters, when aiming to sell, the first test to pass is that of curb appeal.
Passersby who spot the “for sale” sign in your yard must first like the look of your home in order to take the next step forward, which is contacting an agent for a showing. Here are some tips to help enhance your home’s curb appeal and attract more prospective buyers.
There are magazines and journals available that set a high standard and demonstrate beautiful homes—use these resources and gather ideas.
First, determine what style of home you own. Is it a 1920s bungalow, or a modern home? Is it a ranch, or a two story? For older homes, Old House Journal is an excellent source of inspiration. For a mid-century or contemporary home, locate an issue of Dwell.
And for good ideas all around pick up an issue of Architectural Digest. Don’t be distracted that the homes featured in these magazines are unlike your home and, when compared, seem showy. It is not the goal to compete with these houses, but rather to find one or two ideas that, when applied, might help boost your house’s curb appeal.
There is sure to be something great about the natural environment where you live. Native plants and flowers can add life and quality detail to a home’s landscape. A local nursery or garden store is an important resource.
Also, consider visiting local parks for ideas on beautifying your landscape. When listing a home, it is essential that everything looks nurtured and well maintained. A prospective buyer wants to see that his or her future home has had a responsible owner tending to it—this goes for the inside and outside of a home.
Fresh beds of flowers, trimmed shrubbery, attractive stepping stones—when used with taste, these can all enhance the feeling of a home’s exterior world.
It is hard to believe, but there are a few details that can uplift the entire personality of a home. Unique mailboxes and address numbers posted on your house can add the same type of personal touch as can new exterior lighting fixtures or a stylish front door. If you have some extra funds with which to enhance curb appeal, these details should be considered.
For example, if you live in a craftsman styled home, there are numbers, mailboxes, lighting fixtures, doors, windows, and even door mats that can be purchased to suit exactly this architectural style. Again, the publications mentioned above will lead to retailers advertising such products.
So now that you have made changes and your home has extraordinary curb appeal, don’t forget that these features must be photographed and incorporated when listing your home.
As it is likely prospective buyers will first see your home while searching online, these features should be included for electronic viewing.
Choose an agent who is known for taking quality photographs, or guide your agent in how to do so. To a buyer, the first few photographs will make an impression.
Just like driving by a home, viewing photos on the Internet is another way to sense a home’s curb appeal. So it is necessary that your home passes the test.
Passersby who spot the “for sale” sign in your yard must first like the look of your home in order to take the next step forward, which is contacting an agent for a showing. Here are some tips to help enhance your home’s curb appeal and attract more prospective buyers.
Follow the Leader
There are magazines and journals available that set a high standard and demonstrate beautiful homes—use these resources and gather ideas.
First, determine what style of home you own. Is it a 1920s bungalow, or a modern home? Is it a ranch, or a two story? For older homes, Old House Journal is an excellent source of inspiration. For a mid-century or contemporary home, locate an issue of Dwell.
And for good ideas all around pick up an issue of Architectural Digest. Don’t be distracted that the homes featured in these magazines are unlike your home and, when compared, seem showy. It is not the goal to compete with these houses, but rather to find one or two ideas that, when applied, might help boost your house’s curb appeal.
Use Native Plants
There is sure to be something great about the natural environment where you live. Native plants and flowers can add life and quality detail to a home’s landscape. A local nursery or garden store is an important resource.
Also, consider visiting local parks for ideas on beautifying your landscape. When listing a home, it is essential that everything looks nurtured and well maintained. A prospective buyer wants to see that his or her future home has had a responsible owner tending to it—this goes for the inside and outside of a home.
Fresh beds of flowers, trimmed shrubbery, attractive stepping stones—when used with taste, these can all enhance the feeling of a home’s exterior world.
Mailboxes and Numbers
It is hard to believe, but there are a few details that can uplift the entire personality of a home. Unique mailboxes and address numbers posted on your house can add the same type of personal touch as can new exterior lighting fixtures or a stylish front door. If you have some extra funds with which to enhance curb appeal, these details should be considered.
For example, if you live in a craftsman styled home, there are numbers, mailboxes, lighting fixtures, doors, windows, and even door mats that can be purchased to suit exactly this architectural style. Again, the publications mentioned above will lead to retailers advertising such products.
Don’t Forget the Internet
So now that you have made changes and your home has extraordinary curb appeal, don’t forget that these features must be photographed and incorporated when listing your home.
As it is likely prospective buyers will first see your home while searching online, these features should be included for electronic viewing.
Choose an agent who is known for taking quality photographs, or guide your agent in how to do so. To a buyer, the first few photographs will make an impression.
Just like driving by a home, viewing photos on the Internet is another way to sense a home’s curb appeal. So it is necessary that your home passes the test.
