Curb Appeal
By Rick Scherer and Kevin Reder
When trying to sell your home, one of the most significant aspects (besides pricing, of course) is curb appeal. Curb appeal is important because this is your hook, if you will, to peak the interest of potential buyers…
The front yard and driveway are the first things that prospective buyers see, and it gives them a sneak preview of what is to follow once they are inside of your home, so think of it as “staging” for your outdoors!
In fact, recent studies have shown that most buyers have made their decision before even entering the home. Once inside, those customers are just looking for reason to justify – or nullify – their purchase.
A home looks much more enticing if it is noticeably well maintained and has fresh, clean, landscaping, along with something to draw their eye straight to the home. Most buyers believe that if a yard is un-kept and not maintained, it is an indication of how the rest of the home has been treated over the years.
Landscaping is probably the biggest piece of the puzzle, but don’t think it has to cost an arm and a leg. Start with what you have in place – clean all of your palm trees and remove older fronds & seed pods. If you have large oak trees, you should have those cleaned up as well, to give the tree a more dignified, majestic look (you also might want to consider illuminating it at night).
Any dead or weed patches in the lawn should be replaced so it looks consistent (to kick-start the green in your yard try a high nitrogen fertilizer). All of your flower beds should be cleaned by pulling weeds, removing any dead plant material and trimming all of the plants up so they are of consistent size and shape.
Make sure to clean any leaves off the roof and in the gutters as well! Once all of the clean up has been done, you can just fill in with additional plants as necessary. Just remember to use lots of color!
Lastly, mulch is almost as important as the plants themselves to help retain moisture as well as preventing weed growth. It also finishes the look of the landscaping, so be sure address all flower bed areas (remember to keep the mulch about 6”-10” away from the foundation of your home to keep away the insects).
The whole mission is to make your yard look as clean and low-maintenance as possible. If a buyer pulls up in front of your home and sees landscaping maintenance that needs to be done it not only brings to mind deferred maintenance but also is an indication of the work they have ahead of them every year to keep the yard up once they purchase the home.
Keep in mind it is best to use the landscaping to bring the focus to the house. For example, you might want to line your front walk with flowers that contrast with the color of your front door, so that your eye immediately focuses on the front door.
Although landscaping is a crucial part of curb appeal, there is a lot more to it.
You may want to consider painting your home to a fresh new color. If painting the entire home is not in the budget, you can get by with painting outstanding elements such as the front door, shutters, window sills, garage door and so on. Also, make sure that your outdoor lights all have working bulbs.
It also helps to pressure-wash your front walkway, sidewalk and driveway in addition to the soffits, walls (to get rid of insects or dirt), pool deck and dock. A quick cleaning will give your home a vibrant and new appearance.
By tackling a handful of items, you can breathe new life into your home and make it much more appealing and enticing to perspective home buyers.
Market Update
Sales statistics for the month of October had not been released as this article went to print. However, a quick search in the Multiple Listing Service indicates that 147 homes went under contract during the month of October in the South Tampa market. That is an increase of 14% over the month of September which was a record breaking month!
Analysts expect to see a slight decline for November and December due to the holidays, however this is a natural slow down seen every year.
Overall, the market has exceeded expectations since the summer and sales statistics have continued to climb. Let’s hope we can continue this momentum which is a welcome change to our economy!
Rick Scherer and Kevin Reder are Realtors with Smith & Associates Real Estate, located at the corner of Bay to Bay Boulevard and Dale Mabry Highway. They may be reached at 813-839-3800 or visit their website www.southtampamoves.com
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January 5th, 2009 at 11:19 am
Very good advice.
It looks like the market did slow down a bit in November and December. I think part of it was the holiday and the other part is that lenders are prolonging the mortgage process. What was taking a month is now taking about 6 – 8 weeks. If you plan on buying please plan for the added financing time.