Curb appeal can best be described as the look and aesthetic the home you’re trying to sell has when agents and buyers first pull up to the property. But, I like to think of it as the cherry on top of the sundae! Of course, curb appeal matters. Period.
Buyers eagerly await the day when their hard-earned savings amount to a mortgage approval and they can begin the house-hunting process! Then, they pull up to the curb of your home for sale and wah, wah, are met with cement cracks, and unkempt lawn, weeds, and peeling paint.
First appearances mean a lot, and your home’s curb appeal is a preview of things to come inside the home! There are so many ways to update the outside of your home for sale without breaking the bank!
BEST Curb Appeal Checklist (+ Why it Matters!)
Enhancing your home’s curb appeal may be as simple as doing some light weeding, or if you’ve left your front yard hands off for awhile, it could require a lot more work to bring it up to snuff!
Here is a simple checklist of things your can do to make your home stand out:
1. Painting the Exterior
While painting the exterior of your home may be out of your home selling budget, you can do mini paint jobs to improve the look and aesthetic of your home’s curb appeal. Check your fence, front door, front door casing, window shutters, and mailbox to see if a quick paint touch-up is needed and then get to work!
Pro-tip: Choose paint colors in a neutral palette to appeal to a broader range of buyers, such as tan, white, pale yellow, and gray!
2. Gardens and Flower Beds
Updating the gardens and flower beds can be as easy as weeding or as difficult as planting them in the first place! Remember that a few carefully placed flower pots around the windows or front porch can be enough eye-candy to instantly make your home feel more inviting.
Flowers invite a sense of calm and warmth to any outdoor space and don’t take up a lot of room!
3. Lawn Care
If you have the time, you can mow and edge your yard, and trim your trees, bushes, and hedges yourself. Sweep or blow any excess debris from the trimming out of the way and properly dispose of any clippings.
If you don’t have the time, hiring a professional lawn care team to come spruce up your yard can be a very affordable and effective way to make your home’s curb appeal really stand out!
Potential buyers love to see the true potential of a home upon arrival, and a well-cared lawn has them envisioning them, their children, and their pets playing outside together from the moment they arrive!
4. Clean and Add More Lighting
Now it’s time to make your outdoor lights shine! Clean and polish any glass or metal lighting fixtures such as, porchlights, sidewalk accents, and garage lights.
Replace any missing bulbs and add outdoor lighting if needed. You can add solar accent lighting to your walkways or lighting to feature your property’s best attributes such as impressive trees and flower beds.
5. Clean Cobwebs, Bugs, and Debris from the Front Porch and Garage
We’ve all seen unsightly cobweb and bug clusters hanging from our outdoor lights and overtaking our front doors. Grab a broom, or even a vacuum and take them down.
Check your front porch, doorway, garage, fence, and mailbox for signs of spiders and other vermin and clean up their debris with a quick broom-swipe or powerwash.
6. Clean or Powerwash Windows
The outside of windows get dirty, like really dirty. If you’re not the take forever windexing or hosing off the outside of all your exterior windows type, rent a powerwasher!
These can be super fun to spray not only your outer windows, but to clean dirt and ick from your whole home’s exterior! Powerwashing will give siding a fresh updated look, but be careful with old stucco, brick, and paint, as powerwashing may break pieces off.
Updating your Home’s Curb Appeal Checklist Summary
Once you complete these tasks off your checklist, your home will look sparkly and new for potential buyers right as they pull up! It makes the home your selling instantly look like you’re somebody who cares about maintaining things properly, which will really help sell your home fast!
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