You never get a second chance to make a first impression. The exterior improvements to list a home for market condition may be long overdue but without proper care to bring your home up to show standard you may be wasting your time trying to sell it. After all a buyer may decide not to even look at your home if the exterior is clearly in disrepair. Just like the interior improvements that need to be done before listing a home there may be exterior improvements needed as well.
It’s a little known secret that many buyers make the decision subconsciously about buying a home as soon as they see it driving up. How can this be since they haven’t seen the inside of the home? It’s like this if a buyer drives up and the home has great curb appeal and is visible appealing on the outside the buyer subconsciously thinks it’s got to be just as good on the inside… i want it! Then when the buyer ventures inside the home they’ve basically sold themselves already and it just further solidifies the deal when items like bedrooms, bathrooms and other interior criteria match what they’re looking for.
Exterior Improvements & Fixes need to be completed BEFORE listing the home!
The same thing happens with buyers that pull up and view a home in need of a new roof, dead grass, broken windows, etc. Buyers looking to purchase the home for themselves don’t want to envision moving in and immediately starting to work on the home to fix it up unless the buyers an investor which will save for a different article. Buyers will immediately start adding items up in their minds of the cost to repair such items as a new roof, broken windows, etc and their estimate may be off thousands of dollars but at that point the buyers already made up their mind and moved on from the house.
Items like ripped screens, doors that don’t close easily and tight, peeling paint and cracks in the walkway and driveway, etc all need to be addressed. Take some time when it’s bright and sunny outside so you can see everything easily and walk around your home. Do you notice any of the items we just referenced, what about standing water or discoloration from water running down the house because of no rain gutters? Put yourself in the shoes of the buyer, they will be critical of your property and you should be too! Carefully inspect your roof for sagging or missing shingles, while your up on the roof brush off any debris like fallen leaves, algae or moss. You may want to hire a professional to do this roof inspection and cleaning for you.
Curb appeal is huge for a buyer. Even if you don’t feel like your yard needs it, get some annuals and add some color. The home should be inviting and warm to the buyer when they arrive. Yards with plain green landscaping is drab and boring and your potential buyer may just fall in love with the landscaping alone. Finally if you have trash cans or any type of signage like beware of dogs or no trespassing remove them and store them properly out of sight.
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