How to Improve Curb Appeal Home Selling Advice to Help You Attract Potential BuyersA large percentage of home buyers decide whether or not to look inside a house or take it seriously based on its
curb appeal—
the view they see when they drive by or arrive for a showing.
You can help make sure they want to come inside your house by spending some time working on the its exterior appearance.
Curb Appeal Exercise The next time you come home, stop across the street or far enough down the driveway to get a good view of the house and its surroundings.
What is your first impression of the house and yard area?What are the best exterior features of the house or lot?How can you enhance them?What are the worst exterior features of the house or lot?How can you minimize or improve them? Is the approach clean and tidy?What could you do to make it more attractive? Take photos of the home's exterior. If you have a digital camera, view the color versions first, then remove the color and look at it in black and white, because it's easier to see problems when color isn't around to affect our senses.
* Make a list of the problem areas you discovered.
Tackle clean up and repair chores first, then put some time into projects that make the grounds more attractive.
*Kill mold and mildew on the house, sidewalks, roof, or driveway.
*Stow away unnecessary garden implements and tools.
*Clean windows and gutters.
*Pressure wash dirty siding and dingy decks.
*Edge sidewalks and remove vegetation growing between concrete or bricks.
*Mow the lawn. Get rid of weeds.
*Rake and dispose of leaves, even if your lot is wooded.
A Few Curb Appeal Tips :
* If you can budget it, a fresh paint job does wonders for a dingy house. Drive around your town to find color schemes that are appealing.
* Install a more attractive front door, maybe something with leaded glass inserts.
* If you can't justify the cost of a new door, consider replacing plain doorknob hardware with something more attractive.
* If new hardware is beyond your budget, repaint or stain the door and polish the hardware?
If you brainstorm, you'll find that there's a solution to most problems—one that lets you stay within your budget. The trick is to find the areas where improvements are needed, then work on them as best you can.
For more information on this article it can be found at:
http://homebuying.about.com/cs/sellerarticles/a/curb_appeal.htm
