Curb Appeal

We've all heard that when you're selling a house it has to have "curb appeal", but what does that really mean?

Simply stated, when a potential buyer drives by or drives up to your house it has to look appealing for them to want to go inside.  Many potential buyers will tell their real estate agent that they don't want to go in just by looking at the outside.  Once a potential buyer drives past your house because it doesn't look appealing from the outside the chances of getting them back are slim.

The National Association of Realtors puts a high value on curb appeal.  According to their statistics 49% of homes are sold primarily because of curb appeal.

Now your home may have the greatest curb appeal in the neighborhood but if your neighbors aren't taking care of their homes...another potential drive by.  Some things are just out of our control when trying to sell a house.

If you have your house on the market try your own curb appeal assessment.  Stand out on the street and look at the outside of your home like a critical buyer would.

• First and foremost, the front door must be appealing.  Does it need paint or cleaning?  How does the trim on either side of the door look?  One simple thing that frequently gets overlooked is the doorknob.  Is it polished or does it need replacing?  The front door is the entryway to the rest of the house, it has to be perfect.

• How do the bushes look on either side of the door?  Do they need trimming or cutting back?  Are they all alive and in good plant health?

• Are your gutters in good repair?  Are they clean?  There is nothing worse than driving up to a house and seeing plants growing out of the gutters because they haven't been cleaned in a long time.

• Windows...are they spotless?  Does the trim need to be painted or any of the glass replaced?  How do your curtains look from the outside of the house?

• Is the yard maintained?  Trees trimmed and leaves missing.  Is the grass cut at least once a week to keep it looking pristine?

• Garage doors are frequently overlooked...except for buyers.  Do the doors have dents or does any of the trim need to be painted or replaced?  Garage doors take up a lot of space and contribute quite a bit to curb appeal.

• Roof.  When someone drives up to your house are they going to see a roof with missing shingles?  Is the roof clean or does it have dark spots covering large sections?  Roofs too are very important from a curb appeal perspective.

• Stairs.  Do they need to be power washed?  Is the concrete or bricks in good condition?  Buyers see defects in stairs as the first thing when coming to your house.

Be candid with your assessment.  Selling a house in today's market is not an easy task and you never want to eliminate a potential buyer because they didn't like the way the house looked from their car at the curb.  If you can't get them to at least come inside to see how great it looks there then your chances of selling are pretty slim.