Kirstin Kestner, Sales Associate

Curb Appeal

We’ve all heard the saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” Unfortunately, in real estate, people do judge a book by its cover, so to speak.

Very often buyers will have ten or more homes to see on a Saturday afternoon. Realistically, they do not have time, that day, to look inside every home on the list. When driving from one house to another, quick decisions are made as to which homes to go into and which homes to pass.

The decision to look inside the home is often based on how the property looks from the back seat of a real estate agent’s car. If the yard is unkempt, the fence is in disrepair, or there are other defects visible from the street, buyers will often assume that the inside of the home is in the same poor condition as the outside and thus choose not to look inside.

Your property’s “curb appeal” can affect how many buyers stop to view the inside of your home.

• Mow the grass regularly.

• Try to eliminate weeds.

• Edge the grass around sidewalks, driveways, and paths, to give a well-groomed appearance.

• Clean up the yard. Remove any broken lawn furniture. Pick up any trash that may have found its way onto your yard.

• Try to keep garbage and recycling bins out of site.

• Put toys away.

• Repair damaged fences.

• Fix any problems that are noticeable from the street or clearly visible to buyers as they walk to your front door.

• Depending on the season, keep the leaves raked and the snow shoveled.

• Also, remember to clean out the gutters. Buyers will notice leaf piles in the gutters and consider it a sign of poor home maintenance.

• Make sure there is plenty of parking. Buyers will sometimes come in two or even three cars. If they can’t park, they may skip your house and move on to the next one on.

An uninviting exterior can result in fewer buyers viewing the inside of your home. The fewer buyers you have looking at your home, the longer it may take to sell your home. The longer it takes to sell your home, the lower the final selling price. Therefore, it is important to make the exterior of your home as inviting as possible.

Give yourself an idea of how your home looks to buyers as they drive up. When you drive up to your house, take a moment to see how your home looks from the street. Is the front door attractive? Are there any problem items that distract the eye?