Improve Your Home's Curb Appeal

First impressions count, especially when selling your home. When potential buyers pull up in front of your home, you want to entice them into the house with some quick "curb appeal". One of the many services a REALTOR provides is a plan for you to spruce up your home's appearance before putting it on the market. Your REALTOR will have many tips and ideas for low cost and simple fixes that will help attract more potential buyers and sell your home faster. The outside of a home tells a potential buyer a lot about what they might find inside. If the outside looks a little shabby, few buyers will venture further. It is amazing what a fresh coat of paint, some minor repairs, clean windows and many a few flowers can do to improve your home's appearance. Investing just a few hundred dollars on paint, for example, will not only increase your home's saleability but will add value to your home at least equal to the cost of the paint, if not more. Your REALTOR will likely caution you to not go overboard with major improvements, however. Any big jobs like a new roof, for example, are probably better accounted for by adjusting your price to reflect the cost of the repairs than by doing the repairs yourself. Often what impresses a potential buyer is a home that has been well-maintained. So if the exterior walls, driveways, garage and yard look dirty and untidy, you will need to give everything a thorough cleaning. Also take care of any peeling paint, untrimmed shrubs, loose screens or cracked windows. Make your front porch more inviting by adding a couple of low-cost outdoor chairs and a nice pot of flowers by the door. Then make your way into the house and identify areas that need a fresh coat of paint, a minor repair or a simple cleaning. What can you do to improve the appearance of each room? Here are some tips to make your home more attractive and inviting without blowing your budget: Do the work yourself Many of the jobs you will need to do are things you can tackle yourself, including replacing a few roof shingles, repairing loose hinges on windows and doors, fixing storm doors and window screens, caulking window exteriors and cleaning siding. If you need advice, check out your local home improvement centre. Clean up the yard Mow the lawn, trim the hedges, weed the flower beds, remove dead tree branches, rake the leaves, sweep the sidewalks, fix and paint the deck or fence, plant a few flowers and do anything else you can think of to enhance your home's appearance. De-clutter If you have yard and construction debris piled up along the side of your home or elsewhere, get rid of it. The exterior of your home should look as uncluttered as the interior. And don't forget about the garage. You must be ruthless when it comes to clutter; if you haven't used something in the last year, give it to charity or recycle it. Beautify your yard Well-placed flowers, trees and shrubs can really make the outside of a home look inviting. Attractive landscaping can also increase the value of a home as much as 10 per cent. Even without major landscaping, flowers can make a yard look beautiful. Plant flowers in garden beds, hang them from railings and porch ceilings or add flower boxes to window sills. Inside your home Take a tour of each room, noting what needs to be cleaned or improved. Improvements may include repairing leaky faucets, changing light bulbs or fixtures, oiling door hinges and replacing missing or broken cupboard handles. If you have brightly coloured accent walls, consider repainting or wallpapering these areas with light, neutral colours. Depersonalize Your REALTOR will probably suggest you depersonalize your home a bit. Your house reflects your personal taste and style and a potential buyers may be distracted by family photos, trophies or collectibles. It's best to keep your home as uncluttered as possible and store your personal items out of the way. Putting your best foot forward Creating curb appeal for your home may sound like a lot of effort, but the benefits are well worth it. With some simple ideas and the help of a REALTOR, your home will make a great first impression.