Ten Curb Appeal Ideas

Home Staging Tips

When you have made the decision to sell your home, you need to make sure that your home looks its best to prospective buyers. The seller needs to focus on the strengths of the home and downplay the weaknesses in order to attract buyers. Many relators encourage their clients to stage their home for sale. Staging involves decluttering, painting and in some cases upgrading the home to really make it “shine”.  Renting a storage unit for your “extra” household storage items is a great way to remove the clutter from the home during home staging.  One of the most important home staging tips is making sure that the home has great curb appeal.  According to a 2014 study by Home Staging Resource  study , 12% of real estate agents believe that staging “increases the dollar value of the home” by at least 11-20% more! On average, the seller spends less that 1% on staging costs for a very significant return on investment.

We all know that first impressions are everything. In the case of home selling, this is very true. Over 80% of home buyers start their home buying experience searching online. The buyers will see the exterior, front yard, front porches, garages, driveways and sidewalks.  It is crucial for your home to have a great curb appeal that will draw buyers into wanting to see the interior of the home.  Consult with your realtor for more information about staging your home. They can get you in touch with local companies that will professionally stage your home.

Great photos of a home are critical to getting a homebuyer’s attention.  According to the National Association of Realtors 2015 Profile of Home Staging Report , 46% of homebuyers will drop by a home that they have viewed online before they actually get an appointment to view the inside.  The photos of the exterior and interior of the home need to be taken to spotlight all of the great aspects of the home. The best time to take these photos is during daylight hours on an overcast day. This will prevent sun glare fading the colors of the room.

Curb Appeal Tips

1. Act like a buyer and walk around the home with a critical eye. Take notes for what needs to be repaired, replaced or cleaned.  In fact, have another person do the walk through after you. This person could give a good critical eye to items that you, as the homeowner, might have missed. Repairs should be taken care of before the house goes up for sale.
2. Look at the roof to see if it looks like it is in good condition. Look for missing shingles and dirty or streaked tiles. Make these needed repairs before placing the home for sale.
3. Make sure that the house number is easily viewed from the street. Replace any dirty or broken numbers.
4. A cost-effective and easy curb appeal idea is to pressure wash the home siding, the deck, front porch, oil stained driveways (and inside garages), and faded walkways.
5. Do some curb appeal landscaping! Spruce up porch flower containers, window boxes and front flower beds with colorful flowers. Never plant artificial flowers. Pull weeds, rake leaves and pick up any other residue on the lawn.
6. Paint the front door, trim, shutters, and garage door. This is a relatively inexpensive fix to brighten up the outside of the home.
7. Check the lighting fixtures on the porch and house. If they are broken, replace them with a new lighting fixture. Replace light bulbs.
8. Use solar light fixtures along walking paths to the front door. These lights can help highlight the best features of the home.
9. Change or repair the mailbox. Make sure that you stay within any local mailbox ordinances for size and placement.
10. Update the hardware on your front door. For an added plus, add a welcome mat in front of the front door.