8 Common Mistakes That Impair Your Curb Appeal
First impressions are everything. An untidy yard or peeling paint will scare some buyers away completely, while a neat, pretty exterior will bring in more potential buyers. Avoid these eight common mistakes that can impair your curb appeal.
1. Doing Nothing
One of the biggest mistakes sellers make is doing nothing in terms of curb appeal. It’s easy to focus your staging efforts inside the house, but the exterior is just as important. Make sure to spend time cleaning up your property to reinforce that your home is well-cared-for.
2. Too Much Clutter
Your yard shouldn’t be cluttered when your home is on the market. Make sure to put away the collection of shoes near the front door, heap of lawn furniture, and kids’ toys. Leave only a few tasteful pieces out to make your yard look homey and give buyers ideas for how the space could be used.
3. Tired Landscaping
Make sure the yard looks its best. Water the grass, trim the bushes, and put in a few perennial flowers to brighten things up. Fresh flowers makes a huge difference and makes the yard inviting and alive. If it’s not springtime, add a little color by planting seasonal flowers, sweeping up dry leaves, and making sure it’s looking its best.
4. Peeling Paint
Touching up the paint around the front of your house is a renovation worth investing in when your house in on the market. New paint won’t disguise the need for major repairs, but it will give the house a more positive impression and appearance than peeling paint.
5. Quirky Art
You don’t want buyers to fixate on something that makes the house seem bizarre. You’re not able to anticipate everyone’s taste, so you should remove all the unusual art from your house and yard. You want to showcase your house as pretty and appealing.
6. Unusual Landscaping
Front yard vegetable gardens are common in some areas, but buyers might not love the look. The front yard is best for ornamental plants only, and the backyard should be an inviting outdoor living space.
7. Shocking Colors
Is your house known as “the bright yellow one?” Bright colors are cheerful, but you don’t want your bold taste to scare off a solid buyer. Use a neutral paint color when your house is on the market.
8. Outdated Fixtures
New exterior light fixtures aren’t very expensive, and they make a huge difference. They give the impression that your home has been updated recently and they cast a brighter light for evening drive-bys. You should also make sure the hardware on your front door is in working order because nothing turns off a buyer faster than having a difficult to open front door.