Page 61 - FOP March 2017 Newsletter

How to enhance curb appeal
Selling your home starts with making the right first impression, which begins even be- fore buyers enter the front door. Curb appeal
Real Estate
Low-voltage landscape lighting adds a new dimension to your home’s beauty as well as visual cues for extra safety. Focus on the path edges and under steps, as well
as focusing some beams at attractive trees or water fixtures such as fountains or pools. If wiring isn’t an
option, consider solar-powered lights.
• Windows, roof and siding: The greatest invest-
ment you can make in maximizing your curb ap- peal is to provide a makeover to your home’s most prominent features. Besides simply cleaning and touching up paint around windows, you might consid- er accessorizing them with shutters and floral window boxes. Siding may be repainted all the way around, or replaced entirely. And although you might not often think about what your roof looks like, a keen buyer will absolutely notice if it displays missing shingles or other
LISA SANDERS
s
Minor adjustments
s about enhancing your home exterior through landscaping, detail work or oth- er touches. Creating a welcoming envi- ronment will help entice buyers into not only falling in love with your home, but making better, higher offers.
i
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• House numbers and mailboxes: It’s easy to
these detail items for granted, but refreshing them can do wonders for the whole of your exterior. House num- bers that complement your home design and can be seen clearly from the street provide a functional and an aesthetic benefit. Depending on where your mailbox is located, you also gain opportunities to express a subtle style that can catch the eye of home shoppers.
• Symmetry at the entryway: People are hardwired to appreciate symmetrical arrangement, and you can take advantage of this natural preference at your front door. Add plants, light fixtures or other small décor at the en- try, with a mind for mirroring one side of the doorway to the other.
• Open drapes: During the day, you can make your home more inviting simply by letting your windows offer dis- tant viewers a peek at what they can expect to see if they come inside. This may also influence your decisions for home staging – think of your windows as a frame, and arrange the interiors accordingly. Don’t forget to keep the glass spotless!
• Paint, polish, and power clean: Before you list, survey the walls, walkways and metal hardware such as door- knobs or garage door handles. While you can invest the time in giving the home a complete repaint and polish- ing, at the very least you should take care of the most visible trouble spots. A high-pressure washer will do ex- cellent work on your wood and stone; if you don’t own one, most hardware stores offer them for rent.
Major renovations
• Landscaping: There’s no one correct strategy for using your landscape to boost curb appeal – it all depends on the layout of your property – but there are some key tips to keep in mind. First of all, use plants to com- plement and lead the eye toward the best features of the house itself, rather than concealing the home. Add planting beds at the front corners of the yard or along either side of the walkway. And be diligent about lawn maintenance – mow and water your lawn regularly, and make sure it’s free of leaves or other clutter.
• Driveways and walkways: These are both the literal and figurative paths to your front door. If these areas are a bit rough from wear and weather, it might be worth the major investment to repave, or even create an artistic mosaic with polished stone tile.
• External lighting: Don’t forgo the opportunity to cap- ture buyer interest just because the sun has gone down!
take
damage.
As you think about curb appeal, put yourself in the mind
of a buyer who has never seen the property before. Ideally, you want to inspire love at first sight. d
Lisa Sanders has been selling real estate for more than a de- cade, averaging at least 50 homes per year. Her awards in- clude Chicago Association of Realtors Top 1% Producer, Five Star Professional Award for exceptional client service and #1 Realtor in several Chicago neighborhoods.
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