How to Use Curb Appeal to Sell Your Home

First impressions are everything when it comes to selling your home. A buyer might not even view your home if the exterior photo in an online listing doesn’t draw them in. Buyers start to form opinions about the home the second they pull up to the curb, which is why curb appeal is everything. Curb appeal is the general attractiveness of a property — the thing that draws you in from the curb. Here are several ways to boost your home’s curb appeal to help you sell it.

Get rid of the junk:

Make sure the front yard is free from clutter. Put the bikes in the garage, get rid of that old couch you’re trying to unload, put the trash cans on the side-yard. The goal is to present your home like you’re taking the listing photo — the home’s facade should be clean, minimal, and photogenic.

If you’re in the process of moving and need to toss a ton of garbage, don’t leave the dumpster outside the house, call in a junk removal serviceso prospective buyers don’t have to walk past your well, junk, to get to the open house.

Clean the exterior: 

If you want a sparkling clean house, you need to power clean the exterior. Power, or pressure cleaning, can be a cheap, quick way to remove dirt, grime, and other build-up on the exterior of the home. You can buy or rent a pressure washer yourself or hire a professional to do it for you. While you’re out there, clean the exterior windows (do not use the pressure cleaner on glass) until they sparkle, and hire someone to clean the rain gutters until they are free from leaves and caked-on gunk.

Repair everything:

It won’t matter how cute your patio furniture is if there are noticeable holes, cracks, or other exterior signs of damage. Patch and repair concrete and asphalt spread a fresh layer of gravel if your home has a gravel drive, replace missing roof tiles, and fix any flaking paint spots. Even if the damage is cosmetic, fix it anyway.

Add outdoor furniture:

Patios, decks, and front porches are all strong selling tools, but outdoor furniture really kicks things up a notch. Outdoor living spaces are trendy and give prospective buyers a sense of the potential in a space. An unfurnished patio is nice, but if you add a hanging bench and a quaint sitting area — the buyer’s wheels start turning as they imagine their own relaxing life out on that patio.

Give the landscaping a face-lift:

Mow the lawn, pluck weeds, and prune trees and bushes before anyone comes to view your home. Beyond that, consider doing some minor landscaping like creating a path to the front door. Do you have time to put in pavers? Throw in a gravel walkway? Install some inexpensive path lights in the ground? Maybe you can line a faux “walkway” with potted trees or twinkle lights?

Also, planting flowers is always a great way to boost curb appeal and create a more inviting space. Bonus points if you line the garden with a border or edge, which looks clean and professional.

You can also remove the lawn and put in drought-resistant landscaping with succulents and rock gardens. The new owners will thank you for preemptively saving them money on their water bill.

Bust out the paint: 

Painting the entire house isn’t cheap, but it will do wonders to revamp your home. If you don’t have the bandwidth to paint the entire exterior, paint the front door or the trim in a fun accent color. This pop of color will shake things up and set your home apart from all the others on the street. Who doesn’t want to live in the chic house with the turquoise door?

Freshen up the entryway:

Minimalism goes a long way when it comes to the entryway. Remove everything from the front door and give it a good power clean. Update the house numbers to something more modern. Instead of a cluster of plants, try a couple of elegant potted plants on either side of the door. You could paint the door — as we mentioned above — but a brand new, modern door might be the perfect tipping point that gets you that above-listing offer.