How important is curb appeal when you are trying to sell your home? Studies reveal that a majority of home buyers will make a decision whether or not to purchase a home – or even look inside it, solely based upon its curb appeal. It can be difficult to look at the home that you have been living in for several years in the same way that a prospective buyer would look at other houses in South Coast Massachusetts. When you live inside a home, you get used to the way things look, making it impossible to see faults or advantages from an impartial point of view.
This article will attempt to help you look at your home in a different way to help you figure out what areas would benefit from repair or sprucing up so you better compete with other homes for sale in Dartmouth, MA or the surrounding area. While Dartmouth isn’t known for having a lot of one-size-fits-all track housing, it is still important to make even the most uniquely designed home stand out even better in a positive light.
Change YOUR Point of View
The first thing you need to do is figure out a way to look at your home from a different point of view. One way to do that is to look at it from a different location or vantage point. The next time you come home from work or running errands, stop your car down the street instead of pulling into the driveway. Look at your home from across the street or at an angle and start thinking about the way it would look among a host of other real estate listings.
Ask yourself the following questions:
- What do you notice first about the house and the surrounding property?
- What are the three best features of the property that you notice right away?
- Is there any way to enhance or improve upon those features even more?
- What are the three worst features of the property that stick out right away?
- Is there any way to minimize or improve upon those features?
- Is the property clean, neat and tidy?
Another way to get a more impartial view is to take photos. Again, take them from across the street or from an angle, but make sure to get some head-on photos of your home as well. When a Dartmouth real estate agent is preparing a listing or making a list of homes for sale to share with a client, they usually stop by the property and take pictures. Sometimes we see things in pictures that we can’t see with our own eyes. Make a list of problems that you discover and assets that you want to improve.
5 Ways to Improve Curb Appeal in a Weekend
While you probably don’t want to sink a lot of money into making major improvements on your home, there are some things that might need to be repaired or replaced in order to sell the home at a competitive price. If you have a damaged roof, issues with plumbing or a gaping hole in the living room window, you will need to repair them before the home will be able to pass an inspection. That’s common sense. The items we are going to talk about in this next section pertain to more cosmetic changes, small upgrades that can help improve your home’s curb appeal to help it compete against other homes for sale in Dartmouth, MA.
- Front Door – One of the easiest things to upgrade that will instantly enhance the appearance of your home and boost its perceived value is the front door. Real estate listings that feature upgraded custom doors have the potential to sell for as much as $8,000 more than homes with builder-standard doors. You can replace your door with a new entry door that will cost you around $2500 and up or you can paint your door and upgrade the hardware for under $100.
- Landscaping – Your home’s landscaping is a huge part of curb appeal. Trim trees and bushes, keep lawns properly manicured and pluck weeds or other undesirable growths as soon as you see them. Consider hiring a professional landscaper to get you started and maintain it on your own. Adding container plants and flowers can add a splash of color without requiring you to add a complete flower bed or invest a lot of money in upgrades.
- Lighting – Many home owners looking at houses in South Coast Massachusetts will drive by real estate listings during the day and again at night to see how the house looks in different types of light. Outdoor lighting is one of the first things you should upgrade from builder stock to increase safety and add an interesting appeal to your home. Well-planned lighting can be used to accentuate landscaping and certain features on your home that you want to stand out to prospective buyers.
- Hardware – The hardware of your home includes the house numbers, door latch and mailbox. Consider upgrading your house numbers to a lighted fixture and upgrade your old mailbox, choosing a style matches the architecture of your home. Replacing your door latch and locks to matching polished brass or upgrading the entire system to a high-tech entry pad, are just some of the ways this can be improved.
- Driveway/Walkway – Check concrete or asphalt for cracks or stains. There’s no need to completely re-do a driveway or walkway unless it is truly falling apart. Quick fixes that will add instant curb appeal include using pavers to widen a drive, staining concrete to hide ugly stains and removing weeds from the cracks.
Gardner Realty Can Help You Achieve Your Real Estate Goals
For more ideas that will help boost your home in the local real estate listings, speak with your Dartmouth real estate agent at Gardner Realty. With over 35 years of experience working with clients to buy and sell houses in South Coast Massachusetts, our team of dedicated real estate professionals will share with you their knowledge and experience to help sell your home for the best possible price. We have over 20 agents ready and available to help guide you through the entire process. Call Gardner Realty today at 508-994-9029 and put our team to work for you!