Does Your Home Say to Buyers, "Honey, Stop the Car!"

What is it about the appearance of a home that makes a potential buyer say "Honey, Stop the Car... I LOVE that house!"

Your Crofton home doesn't get a second chance to make a good first impression, so let me ask... 

If you were a buyer, which of these homes would inspire a comment like that from you or your spouse?  I thought so... and potential homebuyers would probably agree.

 

These two homes are located on the same street, a block from each other.  They are the same model, built by the same builder.  They have the same basics - 2 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, full basement, and they back to the same field - but they have vastly different interior updates.

Which home do you suppose has granite counter tops?  Stainless steel appliances?  Hardwood floors instead of linoleum squares covered by carpet?  Updated baths?  Replacement windows? 

If you guessed the home with curb appeal, you would be wrong.  Yet the home with ZERO curb appeal is absolutely fabulous inside!  Given a choice of these two homes, however, prospective buyers would not be likely to even see its interior.

To give your home curb appeal, follow the same steps that you do inside to prepare your home for sale:

1. De-Clutter
2. Clean
3. Repair
   
4. Neutralize
5. Stage
   

I don't think anyone could argue that the home without curb appeal is, in fact, de-cluttered, clean, in good repair, and neutral...  but it's the STAGING which truly gives the other home its curb appeal.  In this case, it's landscaping and flowers that make the difference.  Other options might be a wreathe on the front door, a flag, or a distinctive piece of furniture on the front porch.

Just some food for thought, as you begin to prepare your Crofton home for sale, because I know you want buyers to drive past your home and say "Honey, Stop the Car!"

Copyright 2010.  All rights reserved.

 

 

 

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For answers to your real estate questions about Bowie, Crofton, Davidsonville, Fort Meade, Gambrills, Odenton and other communities in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, contact Margaret Woda at Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc. or simply click on a button below for information you can review online: