If you’re hoping to sell your home in the near future, you’ve probably been running around the interior, applying fresh coats of paint and steaming the carpets. But what about the exterior — the first thing a potential buyer would see when they show up for a tour?
Fueled by high demand, the housing market is hot this year. Rents for apartments all across the nation, including in cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, and Roseville increased since the start of the year, and things might not slow down anytime soon. If you’ve recently considered taking the plunge, then this might be the time to capitalize on a hot market and think about finally selling your Roseville home.
If selling is an option, there are a few simple changes you can make to your home’s exterior to give it years of new life and enhanced curb appeal without dropping thousands.
Refresh Your Front Door
First things first: Pretend you’re a potential buyer showing up to tour the property. Is your front door welcoming? Or does it look like it holds a decade of future repairs and refurbishments? Clean and repaint your front door to make a good impression, and fix any tears that might be in the screen. If the hardware is looking a little worn, consider buying a new lock and knob set to make the door feel brand-new again.
Wash or Repaint Siding and Windows
This simple measure is largely overlooked. Cleaning off dirt and grime from windows and paint, as well as cleaning gutters can make a weather-worn house look just like new.
Many homes these days have vinyl siding, which is easy to wash and never requires painting. Pressure washers are affordable to rent and can make an enormous impact on the appearance of your siding in just an afternoon. As an added bonus, you can use it to clean your sidewalks and driveway and remove years of salt and dirt. But be warned: Pressure washers can be very dangerous to use if you’re not properly trained or following the appropriate safety measures. If you have wood siding, it might be wise to repaint the exterior to enhance the value of your home.
You should also ensure that your windows are cleaned before inviting a potential buyer into your home. If your home has many windows, it might be worth it to call a professional window cleaning service.
Replace Exterior Accessories & Lighting
If you splurge for a new handle and lock for your front door, make sure it still matches the other accessories surrounding the entrance — the doorbell, lighting fixtures, house numbers, and mailbox. All of those home features are affordable to replace, and the switch from tarnished, patchy gold-tone to brushed steel or bronze will instantly give your home a new look and feel.
Add Greenery to Your Yard
Home-seekers are going to have their own visions for landscaping, so don’t spend a lot of time and money making significant changes or planting trees that the new owner might very well yank out. Instead, try potted plants and add life and greenery to a porch, entryway, or window.
Edge Pavement
Typically, in fall before the snow flies, Midwesterners are out raking leaves and edging their sidewalks. But what’s the point? Edging your sidewalk makes shoveling the inevitable snow easier, protects your driveway and sidewalks from the damage creeping plants can cause, and — simply put — it looks good. A manicured appearance lets buyers know that your home has been thoughtfully maintained while under your ownership, which is a great advantage for the long term.
Selling your home can be a long, arduous process. And you might even have to deal with some non-traditional financing methods to get the deal done. Or maybe you’ll get a deal done that’s very easy to close. But, either way, by being proactive and working to make your home as beautiful as it can be, you can significantly shorten your home’s time on the market and increase the purchase price. In many markets across the country, a little work can go a long way.
Repainting your home and adding plants definitely helps to improve the curb appeal of your home. Great blog by the way and thanks for sharing!