When you’re thinking about putting your home up to for sale, any realtor will tell you that first impressions matter more than anything else. A great first impression can overcome areas of the property that aren’t as pleasing to the prospective buyer -they choose to overlook them because they love the place at first sight.
Accordingly, we cover four ways to improve the curb appeal of your home, so it doesn’t disappoint during an open house or private viewing.
Tending to the Front Garden
When your home has a front garden or even a small row of potted plants at the front porch, you want to make sure that the plants are well tended to. If they seem like they haven’t been watered in too long and have seen better days, then the impression will follow that the house also isn’t well taken care of.
Should the plants be wilting and unrecoverable, replace them with new ones that set the right tone. Water the lawn and cover up any rough patches. Do your best to make the lawn and garden look idyllic and a welcoming place you want to come home to.
Are the Driveway, Pavement, Walls or Patio Dirty?
You probably hadn’t noticed, but when the realtor came over to price up your home, they probably pointed out that the driveway, sidewalk, or the exterior walls weren’t clean any longer and needed resolving, otherwise it would put buyers off. You need a professional with specialized equipment for effective driveway cleaning Dallas and beyond. You can try to do it yourself, but you really won’t have the right commercial equipment to do it well.
Is the Fencing or Front Wall in Disrepair?
Brick walls fall apart over time and metal fencing rusts out when it’s not treated with a metal protection solution. Any rust on the fence can be sanded down and the fence repainted to resolve the issue, so it doesn’t mean that the fencing must be replaced. With a brick wall, you may need to get missing bricks replaced and have a handyperson come to fix it up to make it look more presentable. However, neither issues are a particularly big job and aren’t expensive to get done.
Invite Friends Over to Inspect the Property
It may seem like a strange idea, but you see your home every day and so it’s difficult to spot the problems. Ask your friends to come over and use a more discerning eye to see what the real problems are that need to be addressed. Make an evening of it with a cooked meal so it is worth their while. You never know what they might come up with that you never noticed before.
You won’t get another chance to make a great first impression. This applies equally to prospective buyers when the realtor brings them over to look at the house in person. Do whatever you can to present your property in the best possible light because it’s likely that you’ll get more offers and a higher price that way.