Admin

Check it at the Curb

By
Home Stager with Signature Style Staging

Have you checked your curb appeal?  It's the first thing people see when they drive up to your house.  Buyers start forming an opinion about your house before they even get out of the car.  If your home does not show well at the curb, chances are buyers won't even make it to the front door. 

However, if your paint is faded or chipped, a fresh paint job will go a long way towards improving the curb appeal.  Also, paint or stain the front door.  Replace the door hardware, house numbers, mailbox and light fixture. 

Clean the sidewalk and porch (power wash if needed) and remove any clutter from the front porch.  Don't forget to set out a new "welcome" mat when you're done!

Keep the yard mowed and edged each week, trim the hedges, pick up newspapers and any trash each day, remove the garden statues and whirligigs, clean the windows, remove and replace any dead plants.  Add a little seasonal color to your flower beds, but remember to keep it watered!  Top the flower beds off with fresh mulch.

Also take a look at your window treatments from the curb.  If the blinds are damaged - replace them.  If the blinds or drapery linings don't match, replace them with ones that do (preferably white or another neutral color).

It sounds like a bit of work, but the results will be worth the time and effort.  You will be welcoming buyers into your home for a closer look!

 

Signature Style Staging

 

Signature Style Staging provides home staging and redesign services to clients in Collin, Dallas, Hunt and Rockwall counties.

www.signaturestylestaging.com

Show All Comments Sort:
Kathy Passarette
Creative Home Expressions - Mount Sinai, NY
L.I. Staging/Decorating

Nancy ~ These are great tips and things that should be kept up regularly.  One of the best compliments I ever got was from a neighbor who bought the house across the street from me.  He said one of the deciding factors was that our house looked so good. 

Feb 25, 2009 09:46 PM
C. Bartch
Newark, OH

Hi Nancy, all great points you've brought up. I know these were my deciding factors when looking for a new home...if it didn't look good on the outside, it didn't compel me to look inside.

Feb 26, 2009 12:30 AM
Virginia Tatseos
Stage-Show-Sell - Bloomfield Township, MI

I Think this is funny BECAUSE we are convered in snow.   We can do some of these now but most have to wait 6-8 weeks.

Feb 26, 2009 12:42 AM
Nancy Robertson
Signature Style Staging - Dallas, TX
RESA

Hi, Kathy!  I think the neighbors accross the street would be the BEST compliment.  They probably see your curb appeal more than you do.

Hi, Cynthia, I like your profile photo!  Thank you for confirming the importance of curb appeal from a buyer's prospective.  It can definitely prevent buyers from taking a look inside.

Wel, Virginia, the weather can certainly be a hindrance for us, can't it!  You're right, when the weather prevents us from completing our projects, we have to do the ones we can first and finish the others as soon as possible when the weather changes.

Thanks to each of you for your comments!

Feb 26, 2009 01:37 AM
Sandi Gerrard
Toronto, ON

Good advice.  I will never forget the day my friend and fellow Board member dropped by to discuss a few things and caught me between the bathroom renovation and garbage pick up day.  Or shall I say, SHE will never let me forget it.  I am now dubbed the Queen of curb appeal, but my "throne" is long gone ...

abc

Feb 26, 2009 03:13 AM
Cathy Lee
CL Design Services Home Staging - Danville, CA
ASP, IAHSP, RESA Danville, CA

Sandi-who's that doggie in the widnow??? adorable!!

Curb-1st impression and #1 on my list of essentials to prepare a property to sell.  Great post!  

Feb 26, 2009 07:05 AM
Melissa Marro
Keller Williams First Coast Realty - The Marro Team - Orange Park, FL
Jacksonville Real Estate and Home Staging

Right you are... curb appeal is definately a huge part of the equation.  If the curb appeal is good then buyers are likely to give a little leeway on anything inside.  If it's bad, then they nit pick everything....

Feb 26, 2009 07:06 AM
Nancy Robertson
Signature Style Staging - Dallas, TX
RESA

Sandi, that is a funny story and I love the picture!  Talk about an outhouse.....

Thank you, Cathy!

Melissa, that is definitely another reason to pay attention to the curb appeal.  Nit pickers can drive a seller (and Realtor) crazy!

Thank you for commenting!

Feb 26, 2009 07:26 AM
Cindy Bryant
Redesign Etc. Home Staging - Houston, TX
"Houston Home Staging Pros"

We especially have to keep the paint and doormats refreshed in the Texas heat.

Feb 26, 2009 03:40 PM
Joanne O'Donnell
Chic Home Interiors - Oakland, CA

Nancy, all of your suggestions are so important, great post.  Just want to say, that most of your suggestions can be done in the winter as well as summer, including painting/staining the door and changing out the hardware.  There is paint that works in low temperatures and you can always remove and paint inside while putting a temporary cover on the hole created.  You can't, of course, paint the whole house and there is no need to mow the lawn... but you can be sure it is shoveled daily, that the path is lighted since so many showings might be in darkness, etc...  Most of what you listed, the window treatments, the light fixture, the mailbox, the house numbers, cleaning up clutter, etc... all that can be and should be done. 

Feb 27, 2009 03:45 AM
Nancy Robertson
Signature Style Staging - Dallas, TX
RESA

You're right, Cindy, the Texas heat tends to fade the paint and doormats each year.  Also, the bark fades.  For just a few dollars a bag, you can make a huge difference in the flower beds with new mulch or bark.

Joanne, thank you for the tip!  Here in North Texas, we don't have a lot of cold weather, so I haven't used the paint for low temperatures. It is nice to know it is available. 

Thank you for reading my post and commenting!

Feb 27, 2009 09:26 AM
Patsy Overton
Patsy Overton Interiors, Atlanta, Georgia - Duluth, GA

Nancy, as I was reading your post, I thought, "Yeah, I need to check my curb appeal!"  My house is not on the market, but I don't think it matters.  A good reminder.  Thanks!

Mar 04, 2009 12:13 PM
Nancy Robertson
Signature Style Staging - Dallas, TX
RESA

Great idea, Patsy!  Your house doesn't have to be on the market to make sure it has great curb appeal.  We should all take pride in our homes and make sure they are in good condition and have good curb appeal all the time. 

Thanks for writing!

Mar 04, 2009 01:49 PM
Annie Pinsker-Brown
Stage to Sell - LA Home Staging - Los Angeles, CA
Stage to Sell, Los Angeles Home Stager

Nancy, this is so true! I always tell my clients to stand across the street and look back at their home. This is a great primer on how to increase your curb appeal and should be very helpful to anyone with a home that's lingering on the market.

Mar 06, 2009 09:14 AM
Nancy Robertson
Signature Style Staging - Dallas, TX
RESA

Annie, thank you for commenting! What a great idea to ask homeowners to get a view of their homes from accross the street.  Curb appeal is so important in attracting buyers.  Homeowners should take a good look and be honest with themselves about the way their homes look on the outside.

Mar 06, 2009 12:31 PM
Pam Faulkner
Faulkner House Interior Redesign - Herndon, VA
Room Transformations Fairfax & Loudoun Counties VA

Hilarious picture Sandi.  It reminds me of a house I used to drive by that had an old claw foot tub on the porch.  It had been turned into a sort of settee by cutting off one side.  Strangely clever but not terribly successful.

Mar 22, 2009 12:07 PM