Photo by Francesca Tosolini on Unsplash
If you’re aiming to sell your home in the near future or you're in the event that you want to “sell my house fast”, you’ve probably been running around like crazy working on the interior of your home. Maybe you installed brand new carpeting throughout your entire home or put in amazing new hardwood floors. You might have upgraded your kitchen appliances to brand new stainless steel and even cleaned every single closet out and de-cluttered for showings.But what about the exterior — the first thing a potential buyer might see when they arrive for a showing?
Although the interior of your home is very, very important. It’s also important to remember that making a good first impression is where it all starts for the buyer. There are a few things you should focus on when looking to improve curb appeal.
Upgrade your hardware
Have you taken a look at your exterior hardware recently? There is an amazing amount of work you can do for the exterior of your home when you focus on the hardware. Take a look at what you currently have and analyze what might need updating first. Keep in mind that your buyer is going to want to purchase a move-in ready home, not one that they need to perform a ton of updates on. Here are a few things you can focus on in terms of hardware.
If you take the time to update these subtle items on your home’s exterior, you’ll have buyers eagerly waiting to step into your home for a showing.
Should you paint?
The easiest way to grab attention is by adding a lot color to your front door. Painting your front door, a unique color, can help your home stand out from the rest of the neighborhood competition. It doesn’t take much to create an extremely friendly front door and entryway. Imagine walking up to your house as a buyer — what would you want to see? And if you’re not comfortable doing this yourself, you can always hire a professional craftsman to help get the job done!
Opt for outdoor lighting
Lights lead the way to your home. Your entryway welcomes your buyers into the next home of their dreams. So, why wouldn’t you spruce things up a bit? Soft exterior lighting can make a huge difference in comparison to houses located near yours. The lights will also help to emphasize your landscaping efforts (see next tip!) and help improve your security as well.
If you want to make an eco-friendly decision to truly impress your buyer, use solar lights which are great for sidewalks. They don’t require any running electrical cables and you’ll avoid using the old orange extension cord that you tossed into your garage last winter. These lights are very easy to install and will surely provide the ambiance your buyer will love to see when they first approach your home for a nighttime showing.
Add greenery for a bright and inviting feeling
Plants are a great addition. Your home will instantly start to feel very welcoming once you add lots of greenery. Flowers along the sidewalk and driveway, in front of your home, flower pots creating nice clean angles on your lawn and garden beds on the side of your house — these added landscaping techniques will enhance the brightness and home-like feeling of your property. Consider adding a cast stone planter or two as an architectural accent.
Upgrade your mailbox
Little details like the mailbox do actually make significant impact on the value or your home to the buyer. You will notice for yourself that improving these smallest details can change the look of the home overall. There are a ton of great places that will sell amazing hardware at a great price. And as we mentioned above, don’t overlook the smaller details such as changing the outdated locks, door handles, rusted light fixtures and other hardware pieces that provide such great accents to your beautiful home.
Whether your buyer is a current renter of a Chicago apartment or a Millennial who has recently secured their first mortgage after a long battle with the bank, it is the little things that will get that buyer into your home for the showing and inevitably lead you to a sale. Keep working on that curb appeal and you’ll have a deal done in no time!