Your home will be judged by its curb appeal before potential buyers walk through the door.
One glance speaks volumes. Let prospective buyers be impressed and excited, beginning with the website photograph of the front of your home and then with their in-person view from the curb.
Is the landscaping attractive? Is there clutter or eyesores that could be removed? Is the house in need of a paint job? Are there decorative touches that could turn something drab into a delightful feature? Consider enlisting the help of your agent, or a friend or neighbor whose home you admire, someone who isn’t afraid of telling you honestly what they think needs to change.
Clutter and Eyesores
An easy place to start is with clutter. Are cars in the driveway? Toys or old holiday decorations in the walkway? Get rid of any construction debris. Look for loose or missing bricks. If trash and recycling bins, pipes, and septic tanks are visible, hide them or enclose them with a wood fence, lattice work, or by surrounding them with shrubs.
Store garden hoses in a bench or a pretty ceramic or brass wicker pot, or cover them with one of those faux rocks you can pick up at a home improvement store. Camouflage breaker boxes, air and heating units, wiring and other apparatus attached to the house by painting them the same color as the siding.
Landscaping
Nothing dresses up the outside of your home like beautiful landscaping. If you’re already happy with the yard, keep any grass mowed and edged, weeds pulled, and bushes and trees trimmed. Remove lawn ornaments. Consider that some bushes or trees might be keeping less sunlight from entering the house. Remove dead leaves from plants. Apply fresh mulch around flower beds. Create a rock garden. If you choose to include wildflowers, a great source for ideas is the Ladybird Wildflower Center.
If you have an overgrown tree with big roots, think about building a tree bench. It can turn an obtrusive tree into a centerpiece. Speaking of big tree roots, are there any roots that might cause sidewalk buckling?
If you think a landscaping makeover is in order, take the existing neighborhood landscaping designs into account. Consider how prospective buyers might be deterred if there’s a mismatch between your cottage garden and the xeriscaped lawns of your neighbors. Buyers may also be concerned that the landscaping might be too complicated and require extra upkeep.
Xeriscaping in the Austin area sends a positive message. It reflects a commitment to water conservation, it cuts down on water bills, and desert plants are low maintenance—they require no mowing or weeding.
Painting
If the house color looks drab, power-washing might be all that’s necessary to brighten it up. If paint is chipped, faded, wood rotted or the colors outdated, a total paint job may be necessary.
If you decide to repaint, test the colors. You’re probably dealing with 2 or 3 sets of colors: the house, the trim, and accents like doors, window sashes and shutters. Don’t forget to consider a paint job on the carport, garage door, and railings.
Play around with combinations. There are plenty of computer programs that can simulate what they’ll look like together. Keep the colors neutral, nothing loud and flashy, with the exception of perhaps the front door, which could be in a bold, contrasting color.
Consider how the colors might look in different types of daylight and in shaded areas. Also, will those colors compliment your roof and harmonize with the houses of your next-door neighbors?
Deck, Patio, Walkways, Fencing
Is your walkway or driveway cracked? Is it a monotonous bland path of concrete? Decorative curbs and walkways can transform a home. Brick, stone or interlocking pavers add interesting patterns and textured surfacing. If you don’t want to take the time or incur the expense of replacing concrete, have it stained to look like tile.
Do your deck stairs drop directly down onto grass or dirt? Add stepping stones or curved pathways of stone, brick or slate, alongside flowers or water gardens.
Add a fence in wood, wrought iron, brick, or stone. It’s a wonderful way to create privacy, security, contain your front garden, and handsomely frame your home. Check with your subdivision first on any deed restrictions. Also, keep transparency in mind. Keep solid fences low. You don’t want visitors to get the feeling that the house is closed off or unwelcoming.
Decorative Touches
- Exposed slab foundation. Cover it up with inexpensive faux stone panels.
- Front door. Paint it a vibrant color or replace the door, adding side glass panels and molding for a grand entrance.
- Garage door. If the door is a big solid monotone and needs some character, add decorative garage door hardware brackets and handles. Add windows or paint faux windows.
- Furniture. Clean, fix, repaint or replace outdoor furniture. If you don’t have any, add comfy seating armchairs or a rocking chair or porch swing. Don’t forget pillows and seat pads.
- Stair accents. Add decorative planter pots on the edges of the stairs.
- Windows. Install shutters or window boxes with fresh flowers. Those treatments will also make the windows appear larger.
- Doorbell. Replace a cheap plastic doorbell with something beautiful in sculptured brass or bronze for an old world or contemporary look, something that matches the architectural style of your home. An elegant chime can also be charming.
- House numbers. Buy stylish address lettering or an address plaque that is easily viewable from the street.
- Mailbox. Upgrade your drab wooden post mailbox with one made of stained or freshly painted wood, metal or stone. There are inexpensive stone cast kits you can buy that slip over your existing wooden post.
- Lighting: Add light fixtures along walkways or in a tree to add drama at night. Go with solar. It’s easy to install, there’s no wiring, and doesn’t affect your electricity bill.
Oh, Wow!
It’s your job to wow your prospective buyers. And that means turning a critical eye to the outside of your home, looking for everything and anything that may be seen as a turn-on and a turn-off at street level. You want that first impression to be one of delight, a desire to see more. The curb appeal of your home is like beautiful wrapping paper. It grabs their attention and coaxes them to look inside.
