If you are navigating the property market as a seller, one of the first things to do is to learn how to present your home in the best possible light. To this end, you are most likely going to hire a real estate agent and seek advice ahead of preparing the home for sale and taking the listing photographs.
Furthermore, at the outset of the process, this realtor – if they are worth their salt – is sure to give you a single item of advice – sort the curb appeal. As is well-known within the property industry, curb appeal refers to the visual impression your home gives when viewed from the outside. In other words, it is your home’s “first impression”.
CityHome Collective, a real estate broker out of Salt Lake City, say that noticing curb appeal problems isn’t the most difficult thing in the world, simply because the reason they can ruin your home’s chances is because they are easily noticeable! Nevertheless, not all problems will wreck your curb appeal to the same extent. An article on how curb appeal can boost your home’s value is one for another day though. Here we will discuss how a home’s curb appeal can make your house more difficult to sell.
What is Encompassed in Curb Appeal?
You no doubt know what a curb is, right? Well, curb appeal is simply everything you can see when standing on the curb outside your home. It is perhaps worth setting out in more detail what these things are, and their relative value-detracting potential.
The first thing that comes to mind is the front yard – if you have one. An overgrown garden or a worn lawn can seriously wreck curb appeal. Also important is the façade of the home, and the state of the walls – it might be time to get the power washer out. On top of this, the front door is particularly important for a home’s value, and any good real estate agent will take pains to point out that the door should not only be in a good state of repair, but should also be painted the right color, in line with current tastes.
Everything else – the windows, the garden gate, the roof, and so on – also have massive potential to affect curb appeal. The best advice, as always, is to consult a realtor with a solid local market knowledge.
What’s Wrecking Your Curb Appeal?
So, with that out of the way, it’s time to turn to the things that could be wrecking your curb appeal. These are important to consider, and you might not have been aware that these are things that are putting viewers off.
Garbage Cans
This one is so easy to fix that it’s almost a tragedy what it could be doing for your home’s chances of being sold. Nobody likes the sight of trash cans – let alone overflowing ones! Put them round the back.
Windows
Most people selling a property think of windows in terms of how well they conserve heat and let light into the home. That means the effect of windows on curb appeal is oft neglected. Windows should not only be kept clean but should allow an enticing peak into the interior of your home.
The Interior
Yes! And this is also to do with the state of the windows. Remember, people can see into your home from outside of it. That means that those parts of the interior are very much part of a property’s curb appeal.
Getting curb appeal right isn’t too difficult, but there are a few surprising things which could be ruining it without you knowing.
