Summer is coming to an end, and your clients who are looking to sell this fall may need some help getting their homes ready for the market. Even if the inside of their homes are good enough for an open house, adding a dash of curb appeal is a great idea.
“The curb appeal reflects the buyers’ impressions of the inside of the home. They might not even want to go inside if the front of the house looks unappealing,” wrote Tyler Smith, founder and CEO of SkySlope, a digital transaction management platform, in an article on Inman.com.
Even high-quality photos of the home may not be enough, according to Tyler.
Citing suggestions from a recent report by lawn care company Lawnstarter, Tyler’s article, “How to quickly improve curb appeal in 2016,” offered these tips for quickly and easily adding curb appeal.
1. Paint the front door — As the focal point of the home, the front door can set the tone for the rest of your exterior. Adding a fresh coat of paint, as well as new knobs and hardware, is a quick enhancer.
2. Update the garage door — The garage door can take up as much as 40% of the front of the house, according to the article, so updating it to add more curb appeal makes sense. The article suggested switching to a carriage-style door or one with windows.
3. Lighten up the exterior — Add accent lights in planters and along the property’s walkways to brighten up the home’s exterior and add a bit of style.
4. Liven up the landscape — This means more than simply making sure the lawn is mowed and weed-free, according to the article. Consider planting flowers and adding mulch to give it a fresh look.
5. Put furniture on the porch — Make the home look more inviting by adding a couple of chairs to the front porch.
“Potential buyers will be able to imagine themselves sitting on the front porch drinking iced tea and watching the world go by,” Tyler wrote.
Source: “How to quickly improve curb appeal in 2016,” Inman.com (Feb. 8 2016)
