Property Manager · SF Bay Area, CA · Member since 2014 · 46 posts · 16 votes
Aloha! We're considering transitioning our primary home into a rental and need advice/ideas on how to improve our (older) home's curb appeal. We're not looking into turning it into prime flipping condition, but we want our exterior to be more attractive, inviting, and easier to maintain.
The first 2 pictures are of the front (with the standard Hawaiian open carport on the left). The last picture is from the front door. We're getting conflicting advice from family/friends, so we're interested in polling all your professional opinions before we get started.
To start off, since it's hard to see the front door right now, we think chopping down the front bushes is a start, but some people mentioned that they like the privacy screen that it offers? What do you think? Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!
Paint the front/screen door! Choose a bold color that you like & which contrasts with the existing colors. It is amazing how such a small thing can change the perception/identity of the property.
All the houses in the neighborhood look quite similar - make your property stand out (pop)! In marketing speak, differentiate it.
I personally agree that the bushes should go so you can get a better view of the front of the home. It's hard to see what's beyond them to offer more specifics but if you have a path leading up to the front door perhaps a couple of flowers or other eye appealing plants along the side of the path would be nice.
Alternatively or in addition you could put a few nice looking plants along the front of the house.
@Ally H. I would agree that removing the existing bushes would help the curb appeal. Perhaps you could replace them with some shorter bushes so that you retain the decorative "privacy" wall between the yard and the street while still making the house visible. I also the walkway idea that @Meghan Reed proposed to decorate the yard and draw potential tenants to the house. One other thought that I had (and I'm not sure if it makes sense for you financially or for your market) was to change the color on the exterior of the house. Find a color that draws people in and really catches their eye against the lush hill side behind the home. Good luck!
There appears to be mismatched shingles on the roof - any way to get those replaced with a matching color? Otherwise, this may lead potential renters to think the property is not well maintained and ultimately drive them away before they even step foot in the house.
Adding a garage door and new front door might be a nice touch as well.
@Andrew Bosworth, absolutely correct about the mismatched shingles. Previous owner had the roof repaired instead of replaced (not sure why they didn't match the shingles though). The roof's still in good condition, but it's on our list of eventual replacements (old house has a long list!).
Open carports are more the norm in Hawaii than closed off garages, so we'll probably leave that be. We may replace the screen door though (that's the 'front door' in the photo). Thank you for the suggestions!
Long time no talk! Good choice on cutting down those bushes. Did you take out the root too or just cut them down?
I recommend looking into changing out the chain link for wood or vinyl. It looks way better and I guess it adds a little more privacy since you took down those bushes. As for the walkway no clue what you should do I have that problem too lol. LMK what your plans are and how it turns out. The one thing I do love is the solar lamps from lowes I bought. Its bright enough and with good sunlight it stays lit till 4am maybe longer but thats what time my wife leaves for work and its still on. Its the portfolio 8 led path light 8x brighter about $60 which is totally worth it.
We just chain-sawed through them and will work on getting the roots out slowly....a little worried about drainage though since our lot slopes towards the house. I agree about changing out the fence. A portion of the fence (on the other side of the driveway) is old wood and needs to redone anyway, so that's also on the list. I like the solar lamps! I've seen them around the neighborhood and they seem to work very well.
Congratulations on the marriage! How was the world trip?
Instead of digging up the whole root, what I do is just cut down a little below the surface and then drill the top of the plant about 2 inches or so and fill the hole with weed killer. Kills any tree, plant bush etc. because its gets absorbed directly into the plant. Then I cover it up after the plant has died which takes about a week or so. A lot less work than digging out the whole root.
Yeah those solar lamps are the best, of course the wired ones are better but they take time to install and eat up electricity.
Thanks, the honeymoon was exhausting being with the same person for 3 weeks for 24hrs a day and always on the move to a new city. We had 17 flights total, but the food was great as expected and she enjoyed it, so all in all it was good.
I'd definitely recommend laying down sod and tearing the fence down. it would really open things up and that green grass would make all the difference. Also maybe paving a new walkway from the driveway to the front door.
Paint the front/screen door! Choose a bold color that you like & which contrasts with the existing colors. It is amazing how such a small thing can change the perception/identity of the property.
All the houses in the neighborhood look quite similar - make your property stand out (pop)! In marketing speak, differentiate it.
Paint your house, nothing revitalize a house better than fresh paint.You could go with your previous color or you could try something new based on your surrounding.A fresh paint not only makes your house look better but also adds nice market to your house. You could make a new fence, add some rocks or pottery so that it makes your yard stand out. Make sure to park your car in the garage Most people use garage as an extra room but if you ask me a car rightly belongs in a garage. There are many other simple steps that you could follow like trimming and pruning your plants, giving your mailbox a makeover. Here is an article that I found that explains in detail 11 ways to improve your Home’s curb appeal