Buyers will know in the first few seconds of viewing your home from the inside {and outside} if it's a good fit for them. Creating curb appeal is one of the easiest ways to draw your buyers in and encourage them to want to see what's on the inside. Often times the way a home is cared for on the outside is a good indicator of how well it was maintained and cared for on the inside. So let's make sure to give an amazing first impression!
-DM Irish's Top Five Ways to Enhance Your Curb Appeal-
1. Create a great focal point! The eye wants to land on something interesting and it might as well be the front door. You can choose to have the door match the shutters or be an accent to other features on the home (trim, siding, shutters, brick). Some homes even can pull off a bright color to make a big statement. Whatever your choice, keep it current, well maintained and cleaned up at all times. It's the gateway to your house!
This was our most recent renovation in our personal home in Cambridge in the Geist/Fishers area. Same house, new door....totally changed the look from the curb!
2. Paint! Just touching up old trim and siding can really improve your home's look. Consider changing up the color to compliment the brick and siding. Using colors in the brick is a great way to pull your color palette together. In this redo with a consultation client, she changed the color and it made it look like a whole new home! Make sure to factor in the homes around you as you choose your color so there aren't too many of the same color nearby. Dare to be different!
3. Yard and Landscaping! Clear out the old and overgrown and freshen it up. Shop clearance sections in the Fall and get great deals on smaller bushes or out-of-season perennials. Give it a season and in due time your landscaping will be in full bloom. Even new mulch and plants in your pots will freshen the home up from the curb. And of course, get rid of the weeds! Spend the extra money to care for the lawn with proper weed and fertilization treatments and you'll be happy you did. This diamond-in-the-rough in our inventory was just waiting on an exterior update. This gorgeous home sits at the entry in Rolling Knoll at 116th and Hoosier Road.....green does a house good!
4. Embellish! Add shutters, window boxes, front porch furniture, planter pots, landscape lighting, for example, to add layers of design to your overall look! We like architecturaldepot.com as one of our favorites for shutters and window boxes. You'd be surprised how a change of shutter style or adding furniture to an empty porch can add to the interest of a home and make people want to see what's inside. Give it character, make it different!
In our own home here, we added shutters and window boxes (along with new paint, lighting, front door, landscaping and window repairs) to really jazz up this exterior from the curb. I like to change the boxes out with the seasons and keep them decorated all year long!
5. Clean and Maintain! Many times when I help stage one of our homes for the market, the outside needs a simple clean up. Last season's debris, cob webs around the door, a loose or broken door knob, new bulbs in the exterior lights, replaced screens and a freshened up door mat are some items to check in on. Buyers and their agent will stand on your front step for a few minutes while opening the lock box to get in. Stand outside of your home for two minutes and take note of what you see. Buyers will see it too and you want them to make a mental happy note and not be creating a honey-do list from the get go. Too many negatives to attend to will keep them from wanting to seriously consider writing an offer on your home!
Staging your home for the market is your smartest option for a buyer's best first impression. In the Indianapolis and surrounding areas? Contact Realtor Dan Irish with ERA Real Estate Links for a complimentary market analysis of your home and to set up your prelisting staging appointment with his team!
Realtor Dan Irish: dirish@realestatelinks.com
Mobile: 317-910-4293
Websites: www.dmirish.com and www.dmirishrealestate.com
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