Home Staging Should Start in the Front Yard

We have all had it happen. You drive up to a listing you are supposed to show, and your buyer decides not to waste his/her time looking at the house because the outside of the home is not attractive. The buyer says, “Let’s skip this one.”

Curb appeal makes that first impression and if a home does not have good curb appeal, buyers might decide not to take a look.

There are some easy things sellers can do to spruce up the curb appeal of their home.

• Hang easy-to-read house numbers that can easily be seen from the street. It might mean replacing the existing numbers, or it might be all that needs to be done is to brighten up the ones that are there. Make it easy to find the house.
• Power wash the walkways, driveway and siding. If the sidewalks and driveway are dirty, or the sides of the house have mildew or algae growing, hire someone to power wash everything so it will look nice and clean.
• Make the front porch inviting. Sellers should set out a pot of flowers or plant seasonal flowers in the beds. Make sure the porch is swept clean, and replace the welcome mat with a nice new one.
• The front door should be freshly painted and the hardware should be polished. There should be no breaks or cracks in the glass, and the glass should be clean and glistening. The door should open smoothly and quietly.
• The grass should be mowed and edged often, and the beds should be free of weeds. Put out fresh mulch in the flower beds prior to listing, but be sure to do it a couple of weeks in advance because fresh mulch can be stinky.
• Trim hedges and make sure they don’t block any sidewalks or porch entryways. The overgrown look is not good.

The front of the home should look great. If it doesn’t, the buyer might assume that if the seller doesn’t take care of the outside, then he/she probably doesn’t take care of the inside either.

Don’t lose potential buyers! Spruce up the front of the home so it makes a great first impression.