Helpful Curb Appeal Exercise

My fiancé and I are in the market to purchase our first home and we have realized how important curb appeal can be in this process. This is not only in the point of view of the future home buyer but also the seller. I can honestly say that as we look through listings in the paper or scroll through photos online, we very rarely pursue houses that do not have proper curb appeal simply because they do not stand out. I wouldn’t doubt that we have bypassed some very nice homes that we should have taken a closer look at; however, without even thinking about it or seeing the inside of a home, it often times gets voted down or overlooked if the initial outside photo doesn’t meet the ideal look we want in a home. With a better understanding of the behaviors of future home owners and having the experience of going through the steps of what makes me look twice at a house, I will be sure to remember this when I actually go to sell my first home. Even if you are not in the market to buy or sell a home, there is a great little exercise for you to evaluate your own home to see if a potential buyer may overlook or decide to bookmark your house for more information.

Here is what can help:

Stand back away from your house, far enough down the driveway to get a good view of the house and its surroundings. Then ask yourself the following questions:

1.      What is your first impression of the house and yard area?

2.      What are the best exterior features of the house or lot? How can you enhance them?

3.      What are the worst exterior features of the house or lot? How can you minimize or improve them?

You can even park where a potential home buyer may park when evaluating your home then take a stroll around the home’s exterior. Grab a camera or your phone and snap some photos, you can refer to these just like a buyer would to see what needs some improvements and what elements would be most attractive to a home buyer.

Lastly, make a list of those areas that are either problematic or simply not appealing and start to check them off your list whenever you can. This will not only improve the curb appeal of your home but it will also boost the value which could potentially be the deciding factor of how quickly your house may move off the market.

Source

http://homebuying.about.com/cs/sellerarticles/a/curb_appeal.htm