5 Tips to Boost Your Curb Appeal and Sell for More.

5 Tips to Boost Your Curb Appeal and Sell Your Home for More this Summer

1. Clean Up

 

 

This tip seems obvious, but can often be overlooked when faced with the daunting task of improving your home’s curb appeal. Along with keeping your bushes trimmed and mowing the lawn, there are many different small things that make a big difference.

• Use your garden hose to spray off driveways, fences, porches, and pretty much anything else. The grass from the lawnmower, the dirt from your tires, and that soil that spilled out of that flower pot at the beginning of spring can be an eyesore that you don’t notice until you start spraying it off your driveway and porch.
• Rent a pressure washer from a hardware store for about $50-$75 a day and clean up your home’s exterior. This is an easy Saturday project that can make a huge difference. By spraying off the accumulated dirt and grime, your house could look like it has a fresh coat of paint for hundreds of dollars less.
• Clean your windows with glass cleaner on the inside and out. While the hose may work for the front porch, use some old fashioned elbow grease to make your windows look shiny and new.

 

 

2. Upgrade the Small Things

 

Sometimes, a little bit goes a long way when it comes to a home’s curb appeal. Here are some cheap upgrades you can do that go a long way.

• Replace your house numbers. This is often the first a potential buyer sees when they are approaching a house they may be interested in, so why not make them a little more easy on the eye? Use this opportunity to make a good first impression and improve the overall look of your home.
• Upgrade your mailbox. This goes back to the house numbers, but mailboxes are also one of the first things a potential buyer lays his or her eyes on, so why not take the time to purchase a new one for under $100 or simply repaint it to revitalize a fixture of your home.
• Add rust-free paint to metal fixtures of your home. There’s nothing worse than walking up the porch of your potential dream home and seeing rust on the porch railing. You can go to your local hardware store and buy a small can of rust-free paint for metal for less than $20 and put that potential turn-off out of the realm of possibility.

 

 

3. Add Plants to the Mix

 

Nature is a beautiful thing and it can help add a lot to the curb appeal of your home. Use these tips to accentuate the beauty of your home with the beauty of nature.

• Plant a tree. This is a step that can set your home up for the future or the now. For under $20 you can buy a sapling and put it in a spot where you and your family can watch it grow for years, or you can spend a little more and immediately add to the curb appeal of your home.
• Build some flower boxes. This is a fun and simple DIY project for the whole family that can really improve a home’s look. Flowers, especially this time of year, brighten up a home and give it some character that’s easy on the eyes.

 

 

4. Paint the Accent Areas

 

While attempting to paint the entire exterior of your home can be a daunting task, and an expensive one, painting accents around the exterior can liven up your home and increase your curb appeal. With most gallon-sized cans of exterior paint costing $20-$30, you can change your home’s look on a budget.

• Paint your trim. The trim of the exterior of the house can easily go unnoticed, but with a fresh coat of paint, it can revitalize the look of your house and catch the eyes of any passerby.
• Paint your door. This is a project that can completely facelift the entrance to your home. By putting a fresh coat of complimentary-colored paint on your door, you can change the way it feels to walk inside from a normal, everyday occurence to an exciting experience.
• Paint your shutters. Shutters on your windows are a great way to accentuate your home, and adding a coat of paint to them can brighten up your exterior. The windows of a home are an underrated eye-catcher and a freshly painted set of shutters can bring them to the next level.

 

 

5. Hide the Eyesores

 

Lastly, you can hide the little things you don’t like about the exterior of your home through some easy, cheap methods.

• Place a small lattice fence or a side of paneling around your air conditioner. This is an easy addition to your to do list that can greatly increase the look of your home. By hiding that big piece of machinery on the side of your house, you can increase the value and curb appeal of your home.
• Store your garden hose in a pot, storage bench, or specialized hose storage item. A garden hose can be a cumbersome eyesore that can just sit in your yard if you’re not careful. Luckily, there are many ways to put it out of sight that don’t break the bank.
• Add some fencing around your garbage can. Everyone has them, and people rarely know what to do with garbage cans. By adding some cheap fencing around the area you normally keep it, you can hide away your garbage and brighten up the crisp look of your home.

If you’d like to see some of the beautiful homes we currently have listed, check out our HOMES page.