As the entranceway to your home, your front door makes a statement about your whole property. It determines whether or not guests or potential buyers will think it’s welcoming and well maintained.
You could say it makes a statement about you.
If you are selling your home if you can draw potential buyers in with that first glance, you're far more likely to convert them into proud new owners.
Updating the outside of your house and transforming it into an extremely attractive home is easily achievable. Spending some time putting some effort into your home should make it an attractive home.
Before you start you should go into the street and take a long look at the front of your home.
Taking steps to hide these unsightly eyesores like planting bushes in front of the AC, painting the junction box the same colour as the house and putting the hose in a decorative container.
They may not be a key part of kerb appeal but will add to a fresh look for the front of your home.
Barbara Corcoran, an American property tycoon, has argued that buyers decide to purchase a home in the first eight seconds of a viewing, so first impressions really do matter.
Let’s look a 7 ways you can improve your home’s kerb appeal:
One of the most obvious (and most impactful) ways to boost curb appeal is to add some fresh greenery and flowers.
A well-maintained front garden will make a house look well cared for – and in buyers' minds, a well-cared-for exterior means a well-kept interior.
It doesn’t take much to trim back an overgrown garden, but it will vastly improve its charm, potentially along with the value of your home.
Fresh landscaping details always attract the eye of potential purchasers, and nothing says fertile and care like an array of gardens full of seasonal produce and eye-popping flowers.
Everyone loves a spray of fresh flowers, so be sure to plant seasonal flowers around the front of the house as well as have some planters on the porch full of the beautiful blooms. Just be sure to tend to them (and water them!) on the regular; nothing's more depressing than a pot of dead flowers twirling in the wind.
Make sure to rid your garden of unwanted weeds early in the season before their roots grow too deep and spread throughout.
If you plan to add new landscaping don't forget to lay down some fresh mulch or pine bark to the natural areas to cover up and kill weeds along with giving the whole yard a finished feel. The ground covering will also promote healthier soil so the new owners will have lush landscaping long past the move-in date
Depending on your budget you can put in a new garden or add planters and window boxes.
Use your plants to accentuate and frame key visual points, like windows and entryways, and if you don't have room for a standing planter, hook up a hanging one.
Even just one pretty plant arrangement can significantly add to your home's exterior appearance.
A fresh, attractive garden will add to the value of your home.
There's nothing welcoming about a dark entryway.
Check your outdoor lighting and replace it if it is looking tired and worn out or a bit old fashioned.
Adding lighting to the outside of your home is easier than ever with handsome LED options that run off of solar power, so you don't need to spend time or money-digging trenches and hooking up wires.
Go for string lights around the top of the porch, post lights you can use to highlight walkways and natural areas, or even a security light or two to make buyers feel safe.
If you already have a hanging pendant by your front door, replace it with something a bit more fun and fresh.
Clean off all cobwebs and debris around outdoor light fixtures, which will instantly make the area appear more bright and clean.
A well-defined path makes your home look more inviting and put together.
Use visual cues like lighting and plants to line a clear path to your front door through the grass or around an existing concrete walkway.
A quick power wash will rejuvenate the route to your entrance, removing dirt and stains.
Clearing away weeds and replacing any cracked paving stones will improve the look of your path.
Ensuring your home has flat paths is essential for those with pushchairs, wheelchairs or little toddlers – so easy access should increase the number of potential buyers for your property.
Utilize outdoor furniture smartly.
Too much outdoor furniture can clutter your home's appearance, while too little can make it look scarce or neglected.
Try to find a good balance somewhere in the middle, and be sure that all outdoor furniture you have is clean and in good condition.
For small yards, think about putting in simple ceramic stools for seating and add some extra charm by setting up a small table with a pretty planter on the top.
Improving your front door is fairly simple.
A quick refinishing can rejuvenate weather-beaten wood.
Research the latest trends in hardware design and then replace all of your front door hardware to give the entryway a modern and clean look.
The solid feel and fresh look of a new door handle, deadbolt, knocker, and even a doorbell will make buyers feel more welcome
Using metal polish on the door fixtures can remove the rust and dirty spots making an old door look new.
A fresh coat of paint allows you to add colour and character to your home.
Don’t forget your doormat! A fresh, new doormat will make guests feel more welcome, as well as give them an opportunity to wipe their feet on rainy or snowy days.
One of the banes of a homeowner’s existence is the roof. They’re expensive to maintain, expensive to replace, and a bad roof can lead to even more expensive water damage if left alone.
The condition of the roof is one of the first things that appraisers and buyers will consider in evaluating your home.
That’s why roof replacement can actually have a pretty decent return on investment (ROI) for your home.
Ideally, if your roof is getting on in age you should replace it before selling, but that can be a costly upgrade. If it's still in good shape though and has a few years left, a thorough cleaning can make it look new, removing stains from trees and algae
A fresh coat of paint on your garage door will instantly make your exterior look better.
Garage doors tend to get dirty and faded from all the up and down movement and should probably be repainted every few years.
If your doors have been neglected for quite a few years, take the time to give them a little facelift.
These 7 tips will allow you to dramatically improve the look and feel of your home and help with selling your home. You never know after these improvements you may decide to stay.
You only get one shot to impress potential buyers enough to get them through the front door. Increasing kerb appeal doesn’t just bring people in, though. Adding kerb appeal is a great way to increase the resale value of your home.
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