Lisa Faria Realtor Asks….How do you add Curb Appeal?

When you start considering selling your home, you often begin to look at it differently than you did before. What once seemed acceptable no longer does – especially when it comes to the look of your home. This is especially true when you are talking about your curb appeal. Wilted plants and bare patches of dirt become hard to ignore when you start thinking about asking for money for the house.

Fortunately, there are plenty of inexpensive things you can do to improve your home's curb appeal. My name is Bill Gassett, a Framingham Massachusetts Realtorand I am here sharing some useful tips for the the budget conscious home seller. It does not always take a lot of money to make a house look better from the front. These are changes that you can enjoy now and as long as you own the house. And if you are planning on selling, these are changes that buyers are certain to appreciate. In fact these are some of the most inexpensive way to add curb appeal when selling a home on a budget.

Inexpensive Improvements for Curb Appeal

Clean the windows – This may take a bit of elbow grease but it will cost you very little. Get outside and clean the windows on your home, especially if they are covered in a layer of dust or dirt. You want the panes of glass shining back at onlookers to give an impression of cleanliness and order. You and your family will also benefit from a clearer view to the outside.

Buy a new mailbox – If your mailbox is old and rusted or otherwise damaged, maybe it's time to buy a new one. Mailboxes are not terribly expensive and they are usually furthest extension of your home. Consider getting a mailbox that is made of a durable and attractive material like stainless steel or aluminum. This will be one of the first things a buyer notices as the approach your driveway.

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Clean the gutters – This is another fix that will only cost you in time and effort, not dollars. Gutters clogged with leaves and debris look bad and cause excessive stress to the overall structure of the gutter. When water collects in the debris and freezes, you risk having the gutter break off of the house and cause real damage. All you need to clean the gutters is a ladder and some gloves. Climb up to the gutter– safely – and use your gloved hands to scoop out the leaves and other debris. If you want to be thorough about it you can use a water hose or bucket of water to flush out the remainder of the debris. Please keep in mind that some gutters are easier to access than others.If you feel unsafe doing this consider hiring a contractor to do the job for you. Cleaning your gutters is one of the perfect fall home selling tips. The changing colors of the leaves and eventually the piles in your yard, should be a gentle reminder to get this taken care of. With the winter coming and increased potential for ice dams this is a smart move.

Install new house numbers – If your house numbers are old and faded, or just dated and you don’t' like the way they look, consider installing some new ones. Your local hardware store should have a lot of options that are affordable and styled in a way that you will like. With new numbers your house will be easy to locate for buyers, as well as the pizza delivery driver. Not only is having your house numbers looking good from an aesthetic standpoint, visible numbers are also important from a safety perspective. When fire and police need to locate property quickly the last thing you want is missing or hard to read numbers.

Change your porch light – Some things become more dated than others as the years go by. Porch lights are one part of your home that may not have aged well. It is also something you can change for a little bit of money that may make your porch look substantially better. Again, your area hardware store will have a bunch of different options. Choose something that works for you and the style of your home and put it in as soon as you can.

Look to your front door – In many homes the front door is actually quite nice. Generally these doors are designed to provide some amount of security so they will be heavier and longer lasting than some less expensive interior doors. However, this does not mean the color of the door has held up well. It may be worn and flaking, or just generally unattractive. Luckily this is an easy thing to fix. Many people are choosing to paint their front doors a stronger, brighter color than the rest of their homes. This can work really well to make your home stand out from the street and to draw buyers into the property. Painting is a cinch and is something you should be able to do for only a little money. Keep in mind that a door will leave a lasting impression on a home buyer. This is something they will certainly remember because more often than not they will be standing there for extra time while they are waiting to enter the home.

Trim your shrubs – Shrubs can take a lot of work or very little, depending on how much you want to put into them. Fortunately the basics of trimming a shrub is pretty easy to manage. You just need to get a pair or shrub trimming shears or an electric or gas trimmer and give a general shape to your shrubs. This is especially important for shrubs that are under or around your windows. Make sure to at least unblock your windows so the home looks lived in. But once you get started with your trimming, you will likely discover just how easy it is to keep things looking tidy. Getting the shrubs away from the home will be something the buyers home inspector recommends anyway so you might as well take care of it now. A home needs to breath or the potential exists for bugs and water to collect up against the house creating issues that you will want to avoid.

All of these items can be taken care of for a few hundred dollars. Use your sweat equity to get your place looking great for the next buyer. Little improvements such as these can go a long way to finding a buyer than wants to call your place home.