Ask any real estate agent and they’ll tell you
that curb appeal is one of the most important factors when selling a home. Curb
appeal shapes a prospective buyer’s first impression and directly influences the value of your home.
That’s not to say you have to overhaul your home’s exterior to get a good price on the housing market. However, overlooking simple tasks like these could have a negative impact on your home sale.
Clean the exterior
It only costs $40-$100 to rent a pressure washer for a day,
making cleaning your home’s exterior one of the highest-ROI curb appeal
projects. Use a pressure washer to clean dirty siding, decks, driveways, and
walkways, taking care to avoid gaps around doors and window trim. You can even
use a pressure washer to clean gutters. Use a gutter cleaning wand to avoid the danger of using a pressure washer on a ladder.
Refresh the front porch
A well-designed front porch leaves buyers
wanting more. Set your home apart with a freshly painted front door in one of
today’s trending hues. Then, choose door hardware and
a front porch light fixture to complement your home’s new look. Avoid lights
that are undersized for your space. Single fixtures
should be about one-third the height of your door while double fixtures should
be about ¼ the height of your door, or larger for double doors.
Install new house numbers
Don’t force buyers to search for your home. Prominent
house numbers are popular among today’s home buyers. Homeowners can choose from
a variety of aesthetics, from minimalist metal house numbers to traditional limestone address blocks. Highlight house numbers with backlighting or uplighting for visibility at all hours.
Repair aging windows
Windows tend to get overlooked by sellers, but
don’t underestimate what new windows can do for curb appeal. Whether you need
to upgrade window trim to match your home’s look or replace stained and fogged
windows, you’ll be amazed at how window repair transforms your home’s exterior.
Keep in mind that while the average price of window repair is $290, your costs
may be higher or lower depending on the type of windows used. It’s easy to find
reliable window repair companies when you visit sites such as Angi.com
and review testimonials and feedback from previous customers.
Add curb appeal with natural
stone
Natural stone adds polish and sophistication
to any home’s exterior. When you need to add character to your front yard, try
a flagstone walkway made of textured limestone, use limestone blocks to edge
garden beds, or add architectural interest with an accent rock or boulder from Indiana Limestone Fabricators.
Mulch garden beds
This is an inexpensive weekend project with a
surprisingly large impact. While mulching is best done in fall or spring, you
can touch up landscaping with fresh mulch any time
of year. Shredded bark and bark chips are the best choice around shrubs and
trees while stones are ideal for filling in areas where nothing is growing.
Green up the grass
All your curb appeal efforts will be for
naught if your home is sporting a dead and dry lawn. While there’s no way to
green up a dying lawn overnight, you can revive your grass by dethatching,
aerating, and fertilizing. If your grass is beyond repair, laying new sod is
the best solution. Expect to pay around $625 for 1,000 square feet of sod that
you install yourself or twice as much for
professional sod installation.
When you’re ready to sell your home, you want
to close a deal ASAP. However, listing too soon could leave you with less money
in your pocket. Invest time and a little bit of elbow grease into projects like
these before selling your home, and you’ll walk away knowing you made a great
first impression — and got a great
price for your home.
Jackie Waters – Hyper-Tidy.com
