The mantra of "don't judge a book by its cover" is sound advice when it comes to people. In real estate though, appearances are imperative. Curb appeal, for those who are not familiar with the term, refers to the attractiveness of your home's exterior when viewed from outside. If you're planning on selling, improving the curb appeal is important in order to attract potential buyers and get offers. Here are a few easy tips and ways on how to boost the curb appeal of your home.
Everyone who visits a home will look at the front door. Such unavoidability means it's one of the things you need to prioritize on your mission to improve curb appeal. Realtor Mag explains it a little further:
Revisit the front door
The exterior of the home counts big for creating first impressions. Indeed, 99 percent of real estate pros say that curb appeal is a critical factor in attracting a buyer.
Invest in a new door if the current one is looking too old and dingy. A fresh coat of paint may help improve an existing one, if a new door isn’t in the budget. Consider a new color, like red. Also, replace the hardware, like the doorbell and locks, to give the front door a fresh new look. Read more at realtormag.realtor.org
A welcoming front door means welcomed buyers. Painting your front door a bright color that contrasts well with the exterior is one way of making sure that it stands out to buyers.
Focus on your front door!
Buyers do a lot of shopping around during the day, but they also like to look at how a house looks at night. After all, they'll be living there 24/7. To that end, adding the appropriate amount of lights to be sure that your house is well-lit at night is a surefire way to enhance curb appeal. The folks at Edmonton Real Estate Blog gives an example:
Add Lots of Lights
While making a home look inviting during the day is vitally important to help it sell, equally important is the way it looks at night, and the way to make sure the home shines at night is with strategic lighting choices. Many people who are in the market for a home visit the neighbourhoods of those homes they are interested in during the day and at night. It's a good way to get to know the type of area a home is located in prior to buying a home there.
One way to improve the curb appeal of a home at night is to line the sidewalk with equally-spaced solar lights. Not only do they look charming, they don't use any electricity and make the home look welcoming. h/t edmontonrealestate.ca
A lighted walkway is uncommon and thus makes the home stand out, and a home that stands out will
get more attention.
Probably the easiest improvement is to simply clean up. Whether it be a mowed lawn or new landscaping, it pays to have a clean yard. You don't need to go all out, though, according to Fortune Builders:
Clean Up
There are plenty of easy (and inexpensive) ways to improve your home’s curb appeal. Mowing your lawns, landscaping with greenery, a well-paved driveway, and newly painted garage doors, are just a few ways to keep things fresh year round.
Cleaning up your home’s curb appeal can either be as easy or as hard as you want to make it. As long as you give your front yard a respectable clean (using some good ole’ fashion elbow grease), hiring a landscape artist or gardener isn’t necessary. Remember, trees shed their leaves during the fall, leaving your home more exposed. So grab your lawn mower, a leaf blower and a hose to impress potential buyers in no time. Via fortunebuilders.com
It's an obvious necessity, but it still warrants mention. A spotless front yard has an easy time catching buyers' attention.
Curb appeal is most often seen as a clean exterior, and while cleanliness is important, there are other things a seller can do to stand out. If you're thinking of selling a home in Fort McMurray, give the A-Team a call.