Although it doesn’t feel like it, spring is around the corner and for those people looking to sell their Puyallup homes it is time to amp up your resale value. Curbside appeal can go a long way when it comes to selling your home. After homeowners have dumped a ton of money into the inside of their home, they rarely then turn their focus to the outside. Most homeowners mistakenly think that it’s too expensive to fix up the curbside appeal. However, not making the effort to spruce up the outside a bit can see your home sitting on the market for quite awhile or worse, having to lower the price on your house. Unfortunately most potential Puyallup homebuyers do not have the time or the know how to help fix curbside appeal. Most buyers are looking for turnkey homes because the amount of effort that goes into finding and moving into a house can be daunting. So when a potential buyer sees that the outside also needs work, it could be the deciding factor when buying the home. Even though Pinterest has helped open the door to more people that want to do DIY projects, rarely do buyers actually want to take the time to do them. As a seller, it is worth the time and some money to fix up the outside of your home.
One of the easiest ways to help curbside appeal is to paint your front door a complimentary bright color. Bright colors on the outside of the house can intimidate some people but using it as an accent color can help give the home a fresh, updated look. The main issue is how to pick the correct color to match the overall look of the home. Here are some tips to help ensure that the color you pick will be a perfect match for your home. Bring whatever you can to the paint store from the outside of your home. For example, bring an extra brick from your home, or a painted shingle. If you still have the original paint color, paint it on a small board and bring it with you. Also bring as many paint swatches from the store home with you to compare them against your current paint job. Some stores sell tester samples and you can paint these tester samples onto a large board and place it over the door. Step back to get the overall look to see if the color matches the rest of the house. There is an app too called Front Door Paint that will take a photo of your door and let you “paint” it so you can see the overall look without a lot of effort. Picking a complimentary door color is very important so take your time when deciding.
Using some cheap crown molding around your newly painted door will help that door really pop. You can pick up some crown molding at your local hardware store for anywhere from $15 to $30 to help frame your door. Once again, as a reminder it is important that the trim color match the door or at least complement the door and house color. The introduction of Urethane foam molding to market has allowed home owners the ability to spruce up their homes with molding for cheap. Urethane foam trim is lightweight, easy to cut, paintable and will never rot making it the ideal trim for the outside of your home. Here is an easy guide from the DIY Advice website to help guide you through the project.
Once you have the door and the frame, adding accessories to the door will really help add some appeal to your front entry way. Adding some house numbers, doorknocker, and some lights add a lot of personality to your curbside appeal. You can either install numbers yourself or find some nice decals to add to your door. You can add the numbers to either the door or next to the door. You can find affordable house numbers on websites like Etsy or a local home improvement store. Also adding a nice doorknocker or a decorative letter will help complete the look.
Moving on from the front door, there are also inexpensive ways to update your garage door. It is as easy as painting it with a gel stain. The most important part of the process is to make sure that your current garage door is power cleaned or at least cleaned with vinegar and a sponge. When painting the door, make sure that you have good weather and that the door isn’t in direct sunlight. The gel stain dries very quickly so make sure that you are properly prepared. For under $25 you can get the paint and the brushes and update your garage to give it a polished look. Another way to update your garage is to add a trellis or a pergola at the top of the garage. Adding a pergola is a little more complex of a project, but the finished product is worth it. This video from www.thisoldhouse.com will help make the process a little easier. http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/video/0,,20827877,00.html
Even though electrical boxes and air conditioning units are a necessity to homes, they are almost always an eyesore unless they are properly camouflaged. Paint your electrical boxes the same color as your home to help hide them a little better. Hiding an AC unit usually requires a little more effort. You can plant some bushes around the unit which only requires your time and some plants that will properly provide coverage. The second option is to use a lattice to hide the unsightly unit. The lattice usually provides more coverage. You can then add plants and flowers around the lattice for an extra spruced up look.
Once the garage and the front door are completed, it is time to focus on the windows on the front of the house. Nothing brightens up a house more that some gorgeous brightly colored flowers. Adding some window boxes below the windows will not only help to frame the windows but also will help catch the eye of some potential buyers. This tutorial from Two Twenty One.
gives simple step by step instructions on how to make your own flower boxes. Adding shutters to the windows also help to frame your windows and give the front of the house some character. Adding shutters is one of the easiest ways to make the greatest impact on the overall appearance of your home. However, if not properly installed, the shutters have the potential to ruin the appearance of your home. This post by Old House Guy (http://www.oldhouseguy.com/shutters/) gives some in depth details about the proper way to install shutters on your home and how to not ruin the look of your house.
The old saying that first impressions mean everything is equally true when it comes to selling your home. People are more likely to drive past your home and not even look inside if the outside looks terrible. Quality curbside appeal can increase a home’s value anywhere between 7 and 15 percent. So not only are you getting a return on your investment but you are making your home more inviting to help attract potential buyers. No matter how much work you put into the inside the house, if you haven’t taken the time to fix up the outside, chances are potential buyers won’t be interested in coming in. Some people mistakenly think that it is too expensive or they are burnt out from all the work on the inside of the house and decide to forgo fixing up the outside. This mistake could cost you money and a quick sale of your Puyallup home. The tips above are a few inexpensive ways to get your home to sell quickly and when you are ready to sell contact a Puyallup listing agent to get your house on the market.
Puyallup.com has a full real estate listings section if you’re in the market or just interested to see what homes in the area are selling for.