Maximizing Your Home’s Curb Appeal, Simply

With 90% of buyers using the internet to search for homes, good curb appeal is essential to getting potential buyers in the door. “It’s the first impression people will get of the home,” says Carpenter Realtors® Broker Associate Brooke Mattson. The first photos people see are those showcasing the front door, and before scheduling an appointment to view the home with an agent, many buyers might drive by for a sneak peek. And when potential buyers arrive for the showing, they begin studying the outside of the house as soon as they step on the porch, while the agent is putting the key in the door.

That extra time to check out your home’s exterior — from the paint job to the landscaping — means buyers can be quite critical. Deferred maintenance on the outside signals deferred maintenance on the inside, which can raise red flags and hold up or even undermine a potential sale.

At the end of the day, there’s no perfect formula for maximizing curb appeal: The details will differ from one house to the next. Different properties have varied needs, and sellers have different budgets for repairs and updates.

“Your house will sell, and it will sell to the right buyer, but we can move that process along if we make it more attractive on the outside,” says Lisa Hicks, Broker Associate with Carpenter Realtors®. So, trust your agent and follow these three basic guidelines, to put your home’s best foot forward.

Clean up and simplify

Deep cleaning your home and keeping it tidy is a good way to show potential buyers that the property has been cared for. This is standard advice for the inside of the house, and Carpenter Realtors® Broker Associate Jobea Trefny urges her clients to give the same attention to the outside. It’s a step that just about every seller, regardless of price point, can do.

“Declutter and deep clean,” Trefny says. “Are there cobwebs on your porch? These days we see those little mud wasps. Get those off of there! Clean the windows. Clean the siding. You can buy a bottle of spray wash and attach it to your hose. It’s simple things that make a big impact.”

The same principles apply to the landscaping. A yard full of beautiful old growth trees loses its appeal if they haven’t been maintained or make it difficult to find the front door. Make sure weeds are pulled, bushes are trimmed, and pathways are swept. And if your neighbors don’t have the time or energy to keep their own yards maintained, consider paying for a landscaper to come in and cut their lawns.

Address repairs

Once you’re established in a place, it’s easy to overlook the piece of missing siding or torn screen that you just never got around to fixing after a big storm or the standard wear and tear of twenty years in a home. But these lingering maintenance needs can leave potential buyers — who usually don’t want to pour lot of cash into a new purchase — with a bad feeling while factoring in these costs.

Remember, the condition of your home’s exterior gives a first impression of the property’s condition overall. Hicks recommends looking at the house with a critical eye, and asking your realtor as well as trusted friends what they see. Then, do your best to address any and all repairs that you can afford, and trust your agent to set the correct asking price if you can’t get to everything.

Freshen up

Finally, once the property is clean and repairs completed, consider some basic touch-ups or modernizations. Trefny encourages her clients to make the most of what they have. “If it looks really old, sure, touch it up with paint,” she says. “But we’re talking a weekend project — not hiring a contractor unless you have rotting wood.”

If you are making updates, Hicks advises sticking to simple, on-trend changes. “If your house gets a lot of sun, your hardware gets baked and starts to crack. It can look bad,” she says. “Update it with whatever’s popular at the time. Maybe that’s nickel. Basically, not brass right now!” When it comes to paint, neutrals are an easy choice, but colors needn’t be drab. What’s more important is that the paint job is professional looking and the hue suits the architecture and the neighborhood.

Interested in learning more tips on how to prepare your home for the market? Call your Carpenter agent and learn from real estate experts.