8 Tips for Adding Curb Appeal and Value to Your Home

As a Home Staging Specialist, there are certain projects I recommend to add more curb appeal and increase the value of your home.  Here are my 8 Tips:

1. Paint.

Hands down, the best advice I can give to any client is having the exterior and interior of your home painted.  Buyers will instantly notice it and appraisers will note it on the valuation.

If you don’t normally enter your house through the front door, be sure to evaluate how the outside entry area appears.  Does the porch, railings and front door need a fresh coat of paint?

As far as choosing an exterior color, be sure to stay within the range of accepted colors for your neighborhood and market.  A house that’s painted a wildly different color from its competition will be marked down in value by appraisers.  A soft, warm and soothing color palette work best for the interior.

2. Clean. Sounds like a given, but take a good look.  Try and see your house from an objective eye – as if you were seeing it for the first time. A thorough cleaning of the house will make a world of difference.  Before I list a house, I will look at it from the buyer’s perspective and advise on areas that need attention.

For the interior, in addition to the kitchen and baths, the key areas to look at are windows, window sills, walls, door jams and baseboards.  (Tip: The Mr. Clean ‘Magic Eraser’ can work wonders for stubborn areas.)  Also be on the look-out for cobwebs.

As far as the exterior, hire someone to pressure wash it.  Pressure washing makes the house look bright and clean in addition to getting rid of unsightly things like cobwebs and mildew, which may not be seen from the street but will detract from the home’s cleanliness when seen up close.  The cost to have a professional cleaning should be a few hundred dollars – a fraction of the cost of having the house painted.

Also, don’t underestimate the value of having the windows washed – both inside and out.  You would be surprised as to how much more light comes in, and brighter the rooms will appear.

3. Landscape and hardscape. Again, if you don’t use your front walkway, go ahead and take a stroll.  If you have a walkway, does it need attention – loose stones, concrete, etc.?  Are the bushes encumbering onto the walkway?

Sometimes less is more.  A trick in making an older home appear newer is by removing and replacing overgrown bushes (that tend to hide the house) with smaller ones.  If this is out of your budget, then trim the bushes back and add a few annuals and mulch will help.

No gnomes please. Again, less is more.  Too many lawn and yard ornaments are not only distracting but can also make a property appear junky.  You’ll also want to discard of any empty pots and piled up yard waste.

4. Add a splash of color. Planting annuals, painting the front door or adding a colored bench or pair of Adirondack chairs will add a touch of visual interest and make your home appear cheerful.  These won’t be noted by an appraiser but it will certainly help sell a house more quickly.

5. Add a nice mailbox and house numbers. If needed, replace the small, faded or missing numbers on the mailbox.  Since your mailbox is the first thing a buyer looks for in finding your house, you’ll want to make a good first impression.

Just like your front door, the look and condition of the mailbox can set the tone for what the buyer will note as they view your house.  If your mailbox is rusty and has seen better days, the buyer may think “what else hasn’t been kept-up or neglected. “  A more upscale mailbox and architectural house numbers or address plaque will not only give your house a distinctive look, but will show that you have pride in your home.

6. Repair or clean the roof. The roof is one of the first things inspectors look at in assessing the condition of a home.  They will determine its life expectancy by approximating its age and seeing if any shingles are curled or missing.  You can pay for roof repairs now, or pay for them later in a lower appraisal; appraisers will mark down the value by the cost of the repair.  That could knock thousands of dollars off your appraisal.

Stains and plant matter, such as moss, can be handled with cleaning.  It’s a job that can often be done in a day for a few hundred dollars, and makes the roof look like new.  However this is not a DIY project; call a professional with the right tools to clean it without damaging it.

7. Fence. A picket fence with a garden gate to frame the yard is an asset.  A fence has more impact in a family-oriented neighborhood than an upscale retirement community, but in most instances, appraisers will give extra value for one, as long as it’s in good condition.

8. Perform routine maintenance and cleaning. To reiterate what was noted above, nothing sets off subconscious alarms like hanging gutters, missing bricks from the front steps, discarded pots or lawn tools rusting in the bushes.  It makes even the professionals question what else hasn’t been taken care of. Bottom line is a house is worth less if the maintenance isn’t done.  Those little things can add up and be a very big detractor.  When buyers say to me, ‘I’d buy it if it weren’t for all the deferred maintenance,’ what they’re really saying is, ‘I’d consider putting in an offer if the price is reduced.’

Real estate agents, appraisers, home stagers, landscape designers, and home inspectors all agree that taking care of these projects before a house is listed will offer the most value when your house is on the market, both in terms of its marketability and dollars.

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May 9th, 2011 in Real Estate Online | tags: Curb Appeal, Home

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