It takes just a glance, maybe for a little over 5 seconds for someone to draw up an impression about you. In this short period, the other person may either form a good or bad judgement about you. This same principle also applies when you are selling your home.
The exterior of your home is the first impression potential homebuyers will have, so you want to make it positive and inviting. And if your home curb isn’t appealing, your potential buyers are less likely going to take the next step. However, transforming your home curb is easy and less-expensive. In this article, we will highlight some do-it-yourself curb appeal tips that will help wow buyers before they step into your home.
- Upgrade Your Front Door
When improving your home curb appeal, there is one part you cannot choose to ignore, and that is your front door. Not only does it tell a lot about the condition of your home interior, it is practically the first thing that your buyers see.
If your front door is old or in disrepair, you should consider changing it to a new one. But if it is still in good shape, make it pop by painting it. If you decide to paint it, choose a color that matches your home exterior. Bright and bold colors like charcoal black, red or turquoise is always a great color choice for front doors.
- Take Care of Your Lawn
While getting your green thumb on is great, maintaining your lawn plays a big part in improving your home curb appeal. Regularly care for your lawn by mowing the grasses, pulling off weeds, and clearing off dead grasses. Keep it watered to eliminate the presence of brown spots. A 2019 HomeLight study found that lawn maintenance and fresh mulch both resulted in higher resale value.
Remember that when potential buyers pull up to your home, one of the first things they see is your home lawn, flowers, and trees. By maintaining the lawn of your home, you can easily influence a buyers’ decision.
- Paint Your Exterior
Spread the paint! Fresh colorful paint looks great on just anything and your home exterior is no exception. Applying a fresh coat of paint to your home exterior can turn it from an old-looking house into a brand-new one. To make your home exterior pop, you should consider applying two to three different color shades. When painting your home exterior, focus on the roof, walls, trim and windows, front door, and shutters.
- Install Exterior Lighting
Exterior lighting is splendid and welcomes your potential home buyers before they even step into your house. Not only does it give your home a regal appearance, it is a great safety feature. In fact, 85% of buyers in a recent survey by the National Association of Home Builders put exterior lighting on their want list.
You can start by installing a few sconces or hanging pendants by your front door and lamp posts that shine directly on your lawn or walkway. Installing exterior lighting that shines on your well-maintained landscape is one of the cheapest ways to transform your home curb.
Capturing Your Home Curb, the Right Way
When listing your home on the market for sale, including the right photos in your listing can help you sell your home quicker and for the right price. Below are some quick photo tips you should take into consideration when capturing your home curb appeal.
- Choose the Correct Time of the Day
Yes, capturing your home exterior require a bit of proper timing to get the best out of your home curb photos. Ideally, exterior photos are best taken during the early hours of the morning or late evening hours. However, try taking some few test shots during the early hours, mid-morning, mid-day, and in the evening to see which works best for you.
If you’re taking early morning or evening photos, be sure to turn on all interior and exterior lighting. If you’re shooting in bright daylight, keep lights off so windows will be dark in contrast.
- Shoot in the Spring
Even if you’re not planning to list your home on the market until fall, don’t let the spring season pass you by without capturing lovely photos of your home exterior. Blooming flowers, fresh green lawn, and trees sprouting new leaves are much more appealing to potential buyers than bare lawns, snow drifts, and bare tree branches.
- Stage Your Home Exterior
While it is common knowledge that you stage your home interior, your home exterior also requires the same touch if you want to attract potential buyers. Before capturing your home exterior, you should clear all forms of landscape clutter, apply fresh coat of paint to your exterior, fix the house number, stash the trash cans, and power wash the driveway or walkway. Remember, a little staging of your home exterior may be the difference in your home selling journey.
