Seal The Deal With Curb Appeal

Curb appeal is your home or investment property's first impression. And you will never get a second chance at a first impression, so make it a good one. You want to make it eye-catching, ultimately attracting people into seeing the rest of your property. People often say "It was love at first sight" and that goes for houses as well as people. You want people to stop, park, and take a second look instead of burning rubber out of your driveway. And the way to accomplish that is by having great curb appeal. And having great curb appeal applies to both residential and investment properties. No one wants to look at a homely home, a dumpy duplex or an awful apartment building. So how do you step-up your property's curb appeal? With observation and planning.

That's right. Take a good look at your property and be prepared to judge it like you would a beauty pageant. In fact, have a second set of impartial eyes look at it. Make lists of what you and your fellow judge recommend should be done. Then tackle the cost effective things first like cleaning, painting and planting. Don't have enough funding to paint the whole house? No problem, concentrate on problem areas or maybe just paint the door, trim and shutters a complimentary color. Consider changing the mailbox especially if it's worn out. Invest in pressure-washing the siding, roof, driveway and cement walkways. Mow the lawn and wash the windows. Put out a couple pots of flowers or consider installing flower boxes to add color. Selling a condo or apartment building? You can still dress the entry up just make sure you are abiding by any by-laws or proprietary leases. Nothing says "Come In" like a property's welcoming appeal on the outside.

And people want to actually see your property, so check out the house numbers. If they are missing or worn out, change them. You want people to find your place. Evaluate your landscape plantings. Have the trees and bushes taken over? If so, cut them back. No one wants to see tall bushes obstructing a bay window's great view. An unkempt lawn or area around a building speaks volumes about the potential care of the inside. Check the exterior lighting. Does it look good and still work? While people might not be touring your property at night, you want to give the appearance of style and safety. Styles vary, so pick one that fits the type of home/building you have. Everything should be well thought out and put together with planning.

So make lists to help you separate items that must be fixed versus things that would be good with the time and funding available. Concentrate on the basics first and all others if you have the time and money to do so. Any good home improvement is better than none. And doing so can ensure someone remembers your property. Remember, people are looking at several places when deciding, and you want yours to stand out from the rest. In real estate, an attractive exterior can make or break a sale. Not sure what to do on the outside? No problem, ask other people including a Realtor you may know as they sell houses every day and know what sells. Also read articles about curb appeal to get ideas. That way you will feel more confident about tackling the job. After all, you want the "after" to look better than the "before".

And once you have completed fixing up your curb appeal, take pictures and ensure that these are the current pictures used in any form of online social media. Though many people do drive around looking for properties for sale, many more are shopping online first, so you want to ensure you catch their internet eyes. When taking pictures, try to do it on a sunny day and take a few of the same shot so you can pick the best ones later. Remember to move things that can make a yard look cluttered like hoses, trash cans and yard tools. As a Realtor here in Pittsburgh I have seen just about every kind of picture, some great and some not so good. I've even see sideways pictures. This may be good for Batman but not the general public. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) 63% of people will drop by after viewing a property online, so make your pictures speak more than a thousand words.

And speaking of words, if you have done some significant work on the outside, like new roof, driveway/walkway or garage built, shout it out to the world. Include that in your descriptions. People like to be made aware of major upgrades to a property, inside and out. And you should feel proud of your accomplishments. So take those pictures and those property descriptions and get them on social media.

Get started on making your home or investment property shine like a diamond. You want people to step from the outside to the inside and what better way to do that than making the outside presentable. But don't stop there as the inside must also be appealing. And a lot of the things discussed here like de-cluttering, fixing, painting and presenting the outside, for show, apply to the inside as well. I hope you find this blog to be informative as there is a lot to be said for the value of having that "curb appeal".