5 Simple Tips To Great Curb Appeal

5 Simple Tips To Great Curb Appeal

I love all things decorating, and home beautifying. When we purchased our first home 4 and a half years ago I was so excited to decorate, paint, personalize and just make it my own. Having lived in condos and apartments before we bought our home, I was used to having weekly gardeners and pretty much NO back or front yard to worry about maintaining. I was in for a little shock when we moved in. We now have a back and front yard that’s greatly larger then our home, and a lot to maintain! I’ve learned to love it, and become a pretty good little gardener if I do say so myself!
I’ve asked my friend Jackie, who just happens to be our awesome realtor to give me some of her tips for beautifying the front yard– aka: “curb appeal”. I just love her tips, and will for sure be implementing them in my yard. Here’s what Jackie has to say, hope you enjoy!

If you’ve spent any time watching or reading about selling your home, then you’ve heard the term
“curb appeal”.  Truly: what is curb appeal?

From a potential buyers’ perspective, it is the simplest, most welcoming invitation to your home.  We all know that beauty is in the eye of the beholder – but you need to know who your beholder is…..

When you are a homeowner selling one of your largest investments, the beholder is everyone that is planning to purchase a home in the price range of your home.

So! How do you appeal to everyone without appealing to no one?  It’s actually quite easy.

Look at your frontyard with a 5 point plan of attack:

1.       What is your largest area of space…..

-          Is it grass….  Make sure your grass is green, mowed and free of clumps of weeds

-          Is it hardscape….. wash and sweep it, it needs to be clean. Add potted plants to soften the edges.

2.       Plant fresh flowers. It might sound corny, but that first impression is overwhelming.  One of my clients bought 2 colors of the same annual and alternated them up the walkway to the front door. It really looked great.

3.       Planters…… clean them, deadhead the plants regularly and clean up the dead undergrowth, then put down colored wood chips. The wood chips might seem a bit costly, if you’re working in a budget but well worth it. The chips add such a freshness and make it seem tidy.  The contrast in colors between the plants and the chips, emphasizes the planters in a good way.

4.     Look at your outdoor lighting. Do you have a single porch light? Is it looking worn? Replace it. For less than $50 you can replace the porch light and sharpen up the entry.  For more than one light, please be sure they match…..AND keep working bulbs in them. Using automatic timers is a good idea.

5.       Mailbox and welcome mat. These items should be clean and if necessary, replace them with new. 

Does a buyer not buy a home because of a porch light or welcome mat? Probably not. Curb appeal is setting the stage of what your guests (potential buyers) will find inside, whetting their appetite. 

I will tell you, having shown hundreds of homes and written too many offers to track, serious buyers will step over each other, fight and compete for the homes that have a sense of “HOME” and create the warmth that we strive for.

Seriously, if you live in OC and are looking for a great realtor or someone to call to get some of your housing questions answered- give Jackie a call. Hope you have enjoyed these front yard beautifying tips! Thank you Jackie!

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www.jackiedirect.com