Selling a house can be a challenging experience, but it doesn’t have to be. One of the easiest ways to draw potential buyers is to spruce up your home’s curb appeal.
You want to draw potential buyers inside your home, but they get their first impression from how it looks outside.
In this article, I’ll go over some steps you can follow to help your home’s exterior look its best.
5 Steps to Help Boost Your Home’s Curb Appeal
Because Clark.com is all about helping you save money, I’ve linked some resources to help you make your home stand out without busting your budget.
Here are some cheap ways to boost your home’s curb appeal.
1. Tidy Up
Nothing says you’re not ready to show your home like an unkempt yard and facade. Make sure the exterior of your house is well-kept at all times. You never know when a potential buyer might drive by.
If you can’t physically clean up around your house, consider hiring a lawn maintenance company or contractor.
Need help with that? Ask your neighbors (whose homes have curb appeal) for recommendations, or read the reviews on sites like:
2. Pressure Wash Your Home
Not only does pressure washing your home save you money, but it’s a great way to restore the luster of your brick or stone siding and any sidewalk or driveway you may have.
If you don’t want to hire someone or simply want to save the money, you can do it yourself. You can usually rent a pressure washer at home improvement stores like Lowe’s or The Home Depot.
Remember to call in advance to make sure the store near you has what you need.
3. Upgrade Your Light Fixture
One relatively simple thing you can do is to change your porch or entry light. While it may seem like a small thing, a new and (perhaps fancy) light illuminating your doorway can work wonders for your home’s curb appeal.
4. Give It a Fresh Coat
Painting your home’s exterior is a major job, but when you compare it to remodeling or adding a room, it’s well worth the cost.
A study by J.D. Power indicated that customers were most pleased with interior paint from Sherwin-Williams followed by Behr and Benjamin Moore.
For exterior paint, that same report showed that Behr got the highest marks followed by Benjamin Moore, then Sherwin-Williams.
5. Add Color
Consider planting some flowers or buying potted plants to display on the front porch or near the entrance to your home.
Not only will they beautify the area, but the color contrast might just help draw attention away from some flaw or less appealing feature of your home.
To save money, check out The Home Depot’s Garden Club, which frequently has coupons on plants and more.
Final Thought
Increasing your home’s curb appeal involves more than just cutting the grass.
Once you’ve spruced up your home’s exterior, consider hiring a professional real estate photographer to take high-quality photos of your home so it gets noticed on websites like Redfin or Realtor.com.
You may also consider hiring an exterior home stager to arrange your property so that its greatest features are accentuated. Or if you’re feeling confident, you could do it yourself — and save money.
Are you interested in other DIY projects around your home? Check out how money expert Clark Howard redid his patio flooring himself.
