The Advantage Of Curb Appeal When Selling Your Home

Selling your home can already be a difficult process when going up against other houses on the market and financial forces like a downturn in the economy. If you really want to give yourself the best chance of selling your home make sure to take advantage of curb appeal. Curb appeal is basically a first impression for houses and as the saying goes you never get a second chance to make a first impression.

If you really want to understand curb appeal go to a new housing development with some houses which have just been sold. What you'll see from the houses that just sold are perfect examples of curb appeal. Everything is freshly painted, plants are new and trimmed looking healthy and young, windows are shiny and reflective and there isn't a spec of dirt to be found. Curb appeal for a house is like detailing an automobile or getting an extreme makeover for an interview. You're fixing everything up and cleaning everything off to put your best foot forward when selling your home.

Greenery is the easiest way to take advantage of curb appeal which has the biggest impact on prospective home buyers. While it can cost some money and take significant effort, replacing damaged parts of the lawn and bushes will go a long way in a short amount of time. Things prospective home buyers don't want to see when driving up to a home for sale are dead bushes and dead spots in the lawn. For obvious reasons, remove all debris and other garbage as well is thoroughly pull all weeds. Hedges and other bushes which are overgrown will make a home seem old. Hire a gardener or by some pruning shears to trim all plants which will give the illusion of them being newly purchased and planted.

If a home has siding and has been painted then repainting the home especially if it's 10 or more years old could be a minor investment and make the house look like it's brand-new. If you don't have the money or the time to entirely repaint the house then at a minimum touch up any surfaces which have become damaged or marred with a matching paint. Visible dings and scratches will stick out like a sore thumb prospective home purchasers. Before even going to the effort of touching up take the hose and a big scrub brush and wash down all the services which appear dirty. You might be surprised how clean a house can look after a power washing.

After going to the effort of repairing all damage, clearing away all debris and cleaning everything thoroughly the house will now be considered presentable and ready for resale. It isn't enough to be as good as the other houses on the market. Curb appeal is a part of staging which means extra effort is taken to make the house pop when a buyer's agent drives by with clients. Consider planting fresh flowers or adding decorative shutters which can make your house stand out from all the rest hopefully resulting in offers to buy.

The primary advantage of curb appeal when selling your home is to make your house look better than every other house on the market. While this may not be a realistically achievable goal it should still be something that is striven for because the extra effort will go a long way towards impressing prospective buyers. Presenting a home as if it has recently been built will impress buyers agents and their clients which will hopefully result in more offers and a quick sale.