Portsmouth New Hampshire Homeowners - Spring is HERE!
With the advent of spring, thoughts turn to buying and selling real estate in the Portsmouth New Hampshire and Maine Seacoast areas. If you're a homeowner thinking about putting your home on the market, you really want to create some great curb appeal that beckons buyers from the road to come on in and see the rest of what awaits them inside.
Creating nice curb appeal doesn't have to cost a lot of money. There are plenty of things you can do that are pleasing to the eye and really cause potential homebuyers to want to see the inside of your home. There's an old saying, ‘you never get another chance to create a really good first impression', and in real estate, that is so true.
Here's a list of eight fairly easy and inexpensive things you can do to spruce up the outside of Portsmouth NH homes for those buyers you want to fall in love with it:
1) Entry doors - a fresh coat of paint of nice paint really adds to that beautiful spring look for new buyers. Your front door and front entryway is the beacon of welcome to your home. Make it look inviting and welcoming - fresh new mats, tidied up screen doors and a fresh coat of paint make a huge difference to prospective buyers.
2) Exterior of your home - a fresh coat of paint, unless it was painted within the last year, really spruces up the outside of your home. Make sure to use complimentary colors for the siding and the trim - they need to show off your home not deter people. If you have vinyl siding, give it a good power-wash to get rid of the dirt from this past winter. Think clean and fresh and bright-looking.
3) Garage doors - a new set of garage doors may be what you need, and that won't cost an arm and a leg. You might even be able to just apply a nice new coat of paint instead of replacing them. If you paint them, use the same color as your entry doors - coordinated colors enhance your Portsmouth homes' curb appeal much more than a mix of several colors. Make sure the garage door opener's working as well.
4) Shrubs and gardens - nothing is more inviting than neatly tended plantings outside your home. Walk around and take a look at your shrubs - get the dead leaves from the winter out of them, and give them a nice tidy trim. Check your gardens and get those looking nice and neat. A fresh coat of mulch, preferably darker in color, really just tidies up the look of the yard immensely. It's like it adds the framing to the picure.
5) New spring and summer flowers - nothing makes someone smile more than brightly colored potted and/or planted flowers. The color red creates a nice bright splash combined with the green leaves and green grass. Keeping your flower plantings all in the same color family doesn't make the exterior too busy. Get some flats of Impatiens or Geraniums - those are inexpensive to buy and bloom all spring and summer long.
6) Sidewalks and walkways - clean away the leaves and debris that gather during the winter, sweep up any leftover sand you used on the ice. Fill any cracks, give it a good coat of sealant if it's paved, replace any pavers or flagstones that need it. If it's crushed stone, give it a fresh layer to even it out.
7) Driveways - take a hard look at your home's driveway. A nice crisp black coat of driveway sealant makes a huge difference. Much like the dark mulch adds crispness, so does re-sealing your driveway. If you have crushed stone or gravel for your drive, consider spreading a new layer on top if it needs leveling.
8) Outside lighting - walk around the outside of your home in the evening and see how well illuminated your home is. Replace any missing and/or burned out bulbs. If there are areas around the outside of your home that should be lighted, add the lights there. It helps to make your home that much more inviting to prospective buyers, and it won't cost much to do this. Solar lighting along your walkways are a nice touch as well, and you can usually find these on sale, too.
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Are you thinking about selling your home or condo in the Portsmouth New Hampshire area?
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And if you're thinking about buying or selling real estate in the Portsmouth NH or southern Maine areas, send me an email or give me a call - I'd love to help!
Ann Cummings, New Hampshire and Maine REALTOR
Real Estate Broker - NH and Maine
RE/MAX Coast to Coast
Portsmouth NH
ann@anncummings.com
888-349-5678 x 3839
Servicing the Coastal Areas of NH & Southern Maine 
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