Every homeowner understands the importance of curb appeal. When you’re trying to sell your house for the highest price possible, strong curb appeal is essential. If a prospective buyer parks on the street beside your home and frowns, the house made a bad first impression. If they smile, the chance that you’ll ultimately receive a substantial offer is much improved.
Here are seven tips for boosting the curb appeal of your home.
- Plant flowers. Of course, you want the landscaping appropriately done and the grass nicely mowed. Those are the basics. Flowers are a beautiful extra touch and are universally appealing. Plant them along the walkway or the front of the house.
- Install new hardware. If you aren’t replacing the outside door, you can get a lot of mileage out of substituting a sparkling new handle and knocker for the well-worn old ones. Installing a fancy brushed-nickel house number is another small change that yields big dividends. Also, consider replacing a weathered or rusted mailbox with a stylish modern unit.
- Prune the excess foliage. If trees or bushes on your lawn are overgrown and untidy, you should trim them. Also, any foliage touching the house should be cut back to allow interested individuals to see the house.
- Install exterior lighting. While this is only effective after dusk, exterior lighting adds a classy touch that complements the visual allure of your house and lawn. Solar-powered lights are one easy and safe option, and they don’t add anything to your electricity bill. Run the lights along the walkway, the house front, or the porch area.
- Paint the front door. If replacing the door hardware isn’t enough to fix its appearance, consider painting it. Unless your house is a recent construction, the paint job probably needs updating and refreshing – look for a stylish, contemporary color. The door is always a focus of visual interest (for better or worse) so the time and money are justified.
- Powerwash the siding and walkways. If the siding can tolerate a powerwashing (investigate before trying this), this will bring out the vibrancy of the color and clean away any dirt. Likewise, the walkways will emerge cleaner and more uniform in color.
- Wash the windows. Clean windows result in a shine that adds visual appeal to the front of the house. The sparkling panes of glass delight the eye and compensate for any deficiencies in the appearance of the front of your home.
Before a potential buyer sees the inside of your home, they see the exterior. So anything that you can do to improve that first impression is worthwhile. These seven recommendations provide relatively inexpensive ways of improving the curb appeal of any house.