How to Improve the Curb Appeal of Your Property so You Achieve a Quick Sale

If you’re keen to sell your property sometime this year, you’ve probably spent plenty of time concentrating on the interior of the home. You may have renovated the kitchen or bathroom, put on a fresh coat of paint, decluttered each room, added new fixtures and fittings, or taken other steps.

However, if you want to achieve a quick sale at a decent price, you must focus on the exterior of your home too. This is the first thing potential buyers notice when they come to inspect the property, after all, it can make or break the first impression people get.

If you break the work down into separate jobs, though, you shouldn’t find it too overwhelming. Here are some of the most important tasks to put on your to-do list today.

Declutter to Make the Outdoor Space Look Bigger

Firstly, do some decluttering outside. As with going through this process inside your home, when you declutter the yard, you’ll enable prospective buyers to get a true indication of the size of the space.

They’ll also see how they could best use it. Keep in mind, too, that yards full of clutter often turn people off. Clutter affects the appeal of the property as a whole and gives the impression that you haven’t taken care of things.

Try to look at both your front and back yards with fresh eyes to notice what may be an eyesore or otherwise doesn’t need to be there. For instance, be on the lookout for old, out-of-fashion statues, sun loungers, dining furniture, barbecues, benches, tools, wheelbarrows, and fountains.

Also, if you have worn out children’s play equipment in your yard, like an unstable cubby house, rusted swing set, or empty sandpit, these will detract from the outdoor zone’s ambiance. Remove smelly and tatty pet gear, too, such as old beds or litter trays, at least at the time when inspections occur.

Get the Lawn Looking Lush and Green

When potential new homeowners come to look at your house, one of the first things they’ll search for is a beautiful lawn to not only make the property look cared for, but also for playing with children or pets or relaxing on.

As such, make sure you give your lawn plenty of TLC so as people walk up to the front door they’re suitably impressed by the grass they see.

Start by mowing your lawn regularly, so it never looks overgrown when people come for an inspection. Be careful not to take off more than a third of the grass at one time, though, as this can be damaging.

It’s also necessary to water your lawn often, especially during the hot months and periods when there’s little rainfall.

Other tasks to add to your to-do list include fertilizing the grass a few times per year to help it thrive and aerating the lawn once or twice per year. This way, more sunlight, moisture, and feed get down to the soil underneath to help the grass stay healthy.

Raking up leaves is essential, too. If you neglect this job, the foliage could form a mat once wet and suffocate the lawn, making it vulnerable to disease.

This lawn maintenance may be hard to fit into your busy schedule, so outsource the work if you need to. The money you spend on quality lawn care will be worth it, though, and ensure your lawn is always looking its best to impress potential buyers.

Spend Time on the Gardens

Of course, it’s also a must to spend time working on the gardens spread around your yards. You won’t do yourself any favors if these areas look untidy and overgrown, so keep things trimmed back regularly. Cut off dead tree branches and remove dead trees as required, and relocate plants that have become too large for their current position.

Plus, don’t let any greenery get too close to the house. If it does, it could cause damage to the home or make it difficult to walk around the property or enter doorways.

You must also get a handle on weeds, so the outdoor zones look appropriately maintained. Edging and mulching are worthwhile tasks to complete too.

If your gardens currently look rather bare, it’s time to add plants to make the area look more homely and inviting. You don’t have to outlay a lot of money on this. Get cuttings from friends or family members, pick up affordable flowers from garage sales and markets, or buy affordable shrubs and small trees from home depots and nurseries when they have deals on.

It’s best to plant easy-care greenery, so potential new homeowners see they won’t have to spend too much time on maintenance. The thought of having to labor in gardens every weekend turns off most busy people.

Add or Repair Fencing

Fencing is another key element in boosting curb appeal. If your property doesn’t currently have fencing all around, it’s wise to install some. The majority of buyers want a home with fencing so they can keep children and/or pets contained and safe within the yard.

Even if they don’t have either of these considerations, they’ll likely still want fences there to provide delineation between their property and their neighbors’.

When adding fencing, choose a low-maintenance option that won’t require regular upkeep. Alternatively, if your property does have fencing already installed but it’s looking worse for wear, turn this around before you put the property on the market.

Add a fresh coat of new paint or oil, switch out broken palings for new ones, and ensure locks on gates work correctly.

Address Other External Fittings and Fixtures

There are numerous other external fittings and fixtures to address, too. For example, if your front door ages the home inappropriately or looks uncared for, replace it or paint it.

Even merely putting on a new door handle and knocker can smarten it up quickly and easily. You may also need to replace, paint, or repair windows and eaves, garage doors, the mailbox, and the roof. The driveway to your property may require resealing or painting if it has noticeable cracks or other issues, too.

Give the entranceway to your home more pizazz by adding potted plants or an inviting bench to the front porch or walkway. Plus, install outdoor lighting, particularly eco-friendly solar options.

Lighting looks pleasing to the eye but more importantly allows people inspecting your home at night to see it adequately and navigate walkways easily. Plus, prospective buyers will feel good knowing the property is already well lit and won’t be so vulnerable to security threats.

Selling a property is a stressful, challenging exercise for most people, especially when it’s the home you live in. However, by taking steps to make your house and its outdoor zones as impressive as possible, you’ll increase your chances that buyers clamor to purchase it.

The curb appeal is one of the most critical factors necessary to “seal the deal,” so follow the steps above to give yourself the best chance of success in a short timeframe.

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