Getting the best offer by adding curb appeal-- HELP!

[Himilce Phelps]

Hello, we recently purchased a foreclosure. It is definitely lacking curb appeal, but it was a price that we could afford. Can you guys help me figure out what to do to add some curb appeal? I have already planted a few more lilies around the front (those are gardenia foundation plantings) and removed the blue spruce? cypress? that was in the middle. I also painted the front door black and replaced the outside lights. We may be moving again very soon and are afraid that are ugly exterior is going to cost us a buyer.  Please help! Also, we live in NC, not Australia-- not sure how that got there!

[Jerry Ciesielski]

Hi Himilce;

I saw your post and lamented the fact you painted the front door black.  When I see a recessed door like that, I would try and paint it a light, bright, color, to accentuate the entrance and make it more welcoming.  Now that it's done, there's no sense going back and repainting - instead, I would leave that front door light on to brighten the entrance, at night, during the day, anytime the house is being shown.

Another thing I would consider, this house, like many newer homes, screams WELCOME TO MY GARAGE DOOR!   Anything you can do to de-accentuate that giant wall of white will be good.  If the budget allows, you could swap out the top panel of that overhead garage door, with a panel with windows.  Alternately, you could use black paint to paint faux windows there.  Also, for less than $40, you could buy faux decorative black hinges and handles to add some interest to the garage door.

Then, like others have mentioned, a white window box filled with colorfull flowers, a pair of shepherd hooks with two matching flower baskets, and some dark mulch, would add punch.

I used photoshop to create a picture of what I'm describing.

Best of luck with your flip!

Jerry