Curb appeal is the first impression people get when they pass by your home. Curb appeal can make a real impact on the speed of a home sale as well as what buyers initially offer. If you are considering selling your home in the near future, working on the curb appeal even before you're ready to list can affect how your neighbors value your home too, it's quite common for neighbors to refer buyers to homes listed in their area.
If the spring cleaning bug has hit you, here are some suggested ways to clean up to improve your home's curb appeal:
- Clean and pretty up your front door, and your gates if you have them.
- A fresh coat of paint, wherever you can afford the time and resources to do it goes a long ways.
- Polishing up your street number sign if you have one.
- Cut back any unsightly weeds and plant eye-catching flowers.
- Clean up any dead branches, leaves and other outdoor matter that accumulated over the winter. Burn up the debris in a bonfire if they're permitted where you are, perhaps make it a weenie-roast with neighbors and friends!
- Clean your windows/get them cleaned, both inside and out. Nothing says spring cleaning like newly cleaned windows, and it makes a marked difference on the appearance of your home both externally and internally.
- Clean up any vehicles in your driveway and on your property be they cars and trucks, recreational vehicles, boats, etc.
- Get your gutters and roof cleaned.
- Pressure wash your home's exterior where any unwanted grunge or plant life may have built up. Same goes for garages, sheds, and other outer buildings
- Replace any broken bricks in your walkways, boards in your fences, as needed.
- Hire a professional landscaper to consult with you about maximizing your property's curb appeal in accordance with your budget, or if you're fit and keen, get to it yourself!
Photo via Creative Commons by David J