You may feel that you will have little trouble selling your home if you’ve taken care of the inside; decorating, renovating and keeping up with the latest styles, but what about the outside of your home? Is it up to the same standard as the inside? Does it have that ‘something’ which gets people excited before they even get inside to view?
Even though the internet has undoubtedly changed the way we search for our next home, kerb appeal, how the front of the house appears, will always help to attract potential buyers. So making some basic improvements to the outside of your property could make a lot of difference to how many viewings you get. It could spark more people passing by to decide to look at your property online. With this in mind, below are some simple, low-cost ways to improve the kerb appeal of your home.
Paint Your Front Door
It could be argued that the front of a house is its face and if so, then the front door is definitely its smile. As it’s the main entrance to your home surely it deserves a little love. A smart front door makes your home stand out and will give people a positive first impression, which will hopefully stay with them as they view the rest of your home.
You may decide to go for a new colour at this point, but stick to a fairly neutral colour unless you are certain that it works with your property style and garden. If you like the colour you already have, simply repaint it to keep it fresh but make sure you take the time and effort to prepare well before the painting begins as this will look much better when you are finished.
Weed Your Garden
Maybe the weeds and overgrown foliage in your front garden don’t bother you, but they are probably going to be noticed by viewers of your property. It can never be a waste of time to smarten up any part of the garden, driveway etc. Removing weeds will not only look smarter but will help show off any mature plants you have. If shrubbery has grown out over lawns and pathways etc then cutting those back will make the outside space look bigger.
Obviously after all this weeding and pruning there will be much clearing away and sweeping to do on the driveway and paths. Taking a little time to sweep into corners and edges will show an extra bit of pride.
If you feel it’s needed and would be worthwhile, maybe pressure wash the drive or pathway to give slabs, bricks or tiles a new lease of life.
Get a House Number
If you don’t already have a nice, well presented house number on your door or wall, then when you’re trying to sell your home may be a good time to get one. If your number is hanging on by one remaining screw or so weathered the postman struggles to read it, this doesn’t give a good impression to someone who is stood at your front door looking at it whilst wondering what the rest of the house will be like.
Don’t spend a lot of money as hopefully this will not be your house number for long. Choose something that’s clear and simple and which is in keeping with the style of your property.
Update Your Welcome Mat
It’s inevitable that over time the welcome mat at your door will become worn, that’s its lot in life, and because you just wipe your feet on it you’ve probably not noticed how bad it looks. So throw the old one out and sharpen up your doorstep with a new one. This is then the final good impression before you invite your next viewers over the threshold into your home.
