Preparing Your home For Selling - Curb Appeal

First impressions are extremely important in real estate.  A buyer who has been riding around looking at houses all day may pass on a house that is unkempt on the outside.  If buyers are dissuaded from even entering the house, it doesn’t matter if it’s the perfect house inside.

You want the outside of your home to look neat, clean, well-maintained, and inviting:

• Grass should be trimmed and watered.  Leaves should be raked.
• Trees and shrubs should be pruned regularly.
• Make sure there is no peeling paint on the house or windows.
• Check the sidewalk and driveway for cracks.
• Repair crooked gutters and missing roof shingles.
• Keep the garage door closed and rid the yard of any clutter (toys, lawn equipment, old cars, etc.).
• Keep the sidewalk swept (or cleared of snow in winter).
• Consider planting seasonal flowers to enliven the scene.

By making your home look enticing from the outside, you’ll lure prospective buyers in to take a look around.  When buyers are discussing your home later in the day, it’s much better to be remembered as “the house with the lovely ferns hanging on the porch” rather than “the house with the old Mustang on cinder blocks.”