Are you considering selling your home? Congratulations! That is a big decision. Hopefully, you have decided to do some pre-planning to make sure you have an online appeal. I am here to provide you with 7 tips to make sure your home stands out from the others and it starts right now!
Let’s look at what you can do to make the outside of your home sparkle and shine. This will help you receive a higher return on your investment when you sell your home.
How your home looks online matters
Digital Curb Appeal can make a huge difference in whether a buyer chooses to look at your home or pass it by. According to the national association of realtors, 97% of recent home buyers use the internet to search for a home. We all shop online. Companies spend a lot of money getting their products to appeal to consumers. Your house is a huge asset and needs the most attractive presentation possible.
Sometimes home maintenance needs to begin at least a few months before you consider listing your home for sale to make sure it looks great. I’m sure many of you are saying in this sellers market it doesn’t matter if everything looks great. However, we won’t always be in this market and in some price ranges this philosophy is very relevant right now!
That first impression (photo) is essential!
The vast majority of buyers pre-shop on the internet for homes and not just the appearance of your home, but also the lawn, landscaping ,and surrounding area. When potential buyers see the outside of your home is well taken care of they feel pretty confident the inside will be too.
Doing some of these tips will bring more potential buyers through your home and result in a faster sale, which we all know results in a higher selling price. Curb appeal can add 7-12% more to your selling price if it’s done right.
Here are 8 tips to consider for fabulous curb appeal
1. Declutter the outside and depersonalize it get rid of yard art.
If you collect flamingos or statues of frogs or cute signs or flags or windmills now is the time to pack it for your next home, sell or give them away. Don’t make a new owner have to see past it.
2. Pick up the kids toys, don’t leave them lying around the yard.
Do you have a basketball movable net in the driveway or a swing set that may have seen it’s day? Time to remove those too. If you want to take a swing set with you because it is beautiful then it needs to be taken down before you put the home up for sale. A new buyer may fall in love with it and you may have to part with it to get your home sold. Sometimes something that can be replaced stands in the way of a sale. Therefore, you should take care of it before hand so there will be no problems in the negotiations.
3. Your family pet has a responsibility too.
For instance, Fido’s land mines. If this hasn’t been something you have kept up with, now is the time to start getting rid of the debris. In addition, did the family pet dig holes or is the grass brown from the daily trip to the grass? You may need to do some repair work to make the yard look inviting.
4. Pressure wash and clean the outside of the house.
This includes walkways and driveways, the house and fence. Whether it is mildew, road dirt, or rust stains, now is the time to get rid of them. Get rid of what is covering up the beauty of your home.
5. You may need to paint the outside.
Once you have pressure washed the house the paint may look tired and worn. A fresh coat of paint is enticing to a new buyer. This could give you a return on investment of 107%. Make sure to paint it a neutral color or a color that blends in with the neighborhood. This is not the time to experiment with colors. Be careful when using greens and blues. There are definitely people who like blue or green and not the other. This is a good question to ask your Realtor.
6. Remove your window screens
Make the windows sparkle by taking the screens off and storing them so that you can see the clean, sparkling windows, and that more light can enter the house inside. If the screens are in disrepair you may need to rescreen, which is pretty inexpensive and will be one less thing a buyer will request during inspections.
7. Update the lighting fixtures
Do this on the outside of your house if they are old, outdated and rusting take them down! The newer fixtures are made out of plastic or pvc to endure harsh weather and will give the outside a fresh pick me up.
8. The landscaping should be well manicured and mulched.
This is like the icing on the cake. Fresh mulch with plantings of flowers and well-groomed shrubs is inviting. Maybe you need to hire a company to fertilize your yard and keeping it mowed and trimmed is a must. Are your trees overgrown? Get them trimmed.
That first impression can make the difference between a buyer wanting to view your home.
This is something that needs to be completed months before you consider selling. Because if you need to do a big trimming you want everything to look like it’s been this way forever. And the most imperative item for goodness sakes make sure your realtor uses a professional photographer!
