Although we all try to live by that old maxim “don’t judge a book by its cover”, first impressions definitely count. We all make instant, possibly unfair judgments on something as soon as we see it, and this is especially true for people who are house-hunting. The way your home appears from the outside is going to have a big impact on how easy it is to make a sale, so here are some easy ways to up your home’s curb appeal.
First of all, give the front of your house a fresh coat of paint. Decent paint for your exterior will typically cost you about $30 a gallon, and the potential value of it goes way past that! Like many people, you may have a door, frame, or wooden shutters that have begun to peel and look a bit off-putting.
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Giving these areas a fresh coat can really breathe life into the exterior and make it much more attractive to passing buyers. To give your home even more curb appeal, have a look at some of the other homes on your street and find a way to differentiate yours. For example, if most people have their doors in a watery, subdued color, use one that’s bright and bold.
Putting up new house numbers is another wonderfully simple way to bring up your home’s curb appeal. Over time, it’s pretty standard for our original house numbers to gather dirt and rust. Yes, it’s a minor detail to the overall look of a home.
However, it’s not minor enough that potential buyers won’t notice it! Find some decent door numbers at your local department store, and replace the old ones. If you have metallic light fixtures or other features on the front of your home, try to choose a finish that matches up with them.
Even after these changes, the outside of your home may still be looking a little drab and plain. If this is the case, then you can add some color and vibrancy to it by installing some window boxes. It’s not quite a picturesque rose bush, but if I wanted to sell my house fast, I’d certainly refresh my window boxes to make the home more attractive. Either buy some cheap flower boxes, or build them yourself, and choose a color of flower that complements the rest of the home.
Finally, if you’re still struggling to interest many buyers, consider replacing the exterior lighting. Like your house numbers, these are a relatively small detail, but when any kind of metal starts to rust and flake away it gets pretty unpleasant to look at.
Think about the overall style and color scheme of your house, and find a style that’s going to bounce off it nicely. If you already have any light fixtures, try and find new ones with the same mounting system. This will take some of the hassles out of changing the lights over, and may make the new fixtures look more natural with the rest of the house.