Curb appeal — creating an inviting impression on the outside of your home — is one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to draw potential buyers into your front door. Curb appeal can help you land your asking price (or even higher) and sell more quickly. Curb appeal can have a major impact on your home’s resale value—even on a small budget.
Does your home need a little curb appeal TLC before it goes on the market? Here are some simple curb appeal ideas that won’t cost you an arm and a leg.
Lawn and Trees
You can easily boost curb appeal by simply maintaining your lawn. Rake leaves, pull weeds, cut the grass, and clean gutters. Trimming your trees and shrubs is another small change that can make a big difference. If you don’t have a lot of money to put toward curb appeal, remember that keeping things tidy can be relatively low budget—at times even free!
Gardens
Gardens are one of the most common requests that house hunters have when it comes to curb appeal. Adding color to your yard makes a home come alive. First and foremost, keep it simple. You don’t have to dig out flower beds or buy expensive plants and mulch. Most front yards have places that are naturally well-suited for flower beds. Consider planting flowers around the base of a tree, along walkways, or in front of porches. Don’t have the time or energy to create a simple, colorful flower bed? Consider a container garden instead. Add pots of brightly colored flowers to the front porch, on either side of your front door or along a walkway.
The Facade
Never underestimate the power of a welcoming front door. House hunters will imagine themselves walking through the front door every day, happy to be home. It’s important you transform your front door into the gateway to their dream home. While that sounds like a heavy lift, it can actually be accomplished quite simply (and affordably) by using tools you probably already have at home:
- Hanging modern address numbers: 1975 called and wants its address numbers back! If you’ve been using the same outdated numbers since the year your home was built, consider swapping them for stylish, modern numbers. These days, home buyers are drawn to monochromatic, sans-serif numbers.
- Installing a new mailbox: Replace a damaged, broken or unappealing mailbox with one that is new, functional and attractive. It’s a small detail, but one that can add significantly to an overall aesthetic.
- Painting your front door: Update your doors with a splash of paint to cover knicks, dings, chips and peeling paint. Many buyers love a bold door color, such as blue or red. Think of it like the centerpiece of a well-set table. Painting your front door is an easy way to update your exterior without having to repaint your whole house. All you’ll need are some paintbrushes, masking tape, and your color of choice!
- Repairing broken or faded shutters: Nothing screams “run away!” quite like chipped, broken or crooked shutters. Paint them, replace them or, if neither of those are an option, simply take them down.
- Power washing the exterior: Painting the entire exterior of your home may not be a realistic option, but a good, deep clean can be. For a project like this, you can rent a power washer from any home goods store or borrow one from a friend.
Curb appeal is the one of the few ways you can control a home buyers’ first impression of your property. If you want to add enhancements to your home, make sure your additions don’t increase the amount of home maintenance needed. Create a balance between elegance and ease to ignite excitement and intrigue in house hunters. By using tools you already own or can borrow or rent, you can stay within a reasonable budget.
Photo: Pixabay
