It's All About Curb Appeal

We have all heard the saying, "You never get a second change to make a first impression." This is true with buyer when they come to view your home. Your curb appeal will set the tone for the showing. Imagine the excitement of potential home buyer as they ride along with their Agent to see your home. All the while your home is being talked up about how beautiful it is and how well it will work for their family. The excitement at times can to such a high it causes some to cry! In contrast imagine the drop of the buyers heart when they pull up to see broken down cars in the driveway, bikes and toys littered across the front lawn, and poorly maintained landscaping. This disappointment is rarely overcome by the beauty of the interior of your home. At times the buyers will outright refuse to even look inside the home. To avoid this let me give you a few simple tips that can be done in a hour each weekend and a few minutes before each showing.

1. After receiving a call to have your home shown walk across the street and look at your home. Imagine yourself as the buyer and see what they will see. Many times you will notice sometime peeking over the fence that needs to be quickly moved or toys hiding in your bushes.

2. Move all of you cars out the garage and off your driveway to around the corner from your home before each showing. Buyers want to be able to picture their cars in garage and on the driveway not yours. Help the buyer feel like they are pulling up to their home when they come to see your house. Buyers need to make an emotional connection with your home from the moment they pull up.

3. This is the easiest and most simple of all but the most forgotten! Open all the blinds in the front of your home and remove EVERYTHING from the window sills.

4. Take a hour each weekend to mow your lawn, pull the weeds, and rake the planter beds.. Buyers like to see the pretty lines in your lawn from your lawnmower and freshly maintained planter beds. Buyers will feel the entire house has been well maintained. The condition of your landscaping in the eyes of a buyer is the same as the structural condition of your home.

Follow these simple steps and buyers will will enter your home with a smile on their face and ready to see what the interior has to offer. Remember the outside MUST be cared for or the buyer will not care to see the inside.