Trying to sell a house can quickly turn into a complicated process, especially as you try to get viewers to turn into buyers. To help you out, the team at Ben Buys Indy Houses is here to offer some tips on how to increase curb appeal. Here are 10 relatively easy (and mostly DIY and affordable) ways to boost the curb appeal of your home.
How to Increase Curb Appeal
1. Paint the Front Door, Trim and Shutters
A fresh coat of paint can give the impression of a complete makeover! Bright and welcoming colors for your front door are popular right now – consider buying some paint and giving it a redo. The same goes for any trim, shutters or other painted areas on your home – window frames, accents on your front porch and so on.
2. Plant Some Flowers
Flowers are another quick and easy way to freshen up your home. Plant some along the front of your porch, sidewalks, driveway, around your mailbox – the options are pretty much limitless! Going hand-in-hand with this, manicure your lawn. Mow grass, trim edges, pull weeds – after all, the lawn is one of the first things most people will see about your home. Make sure it’s attractive!
3. Update Outdoor Lighting Fixtures
Old, rusted or outdated lighting fixtures can also drag down your home’s curb appeal. Replace lighting fixtures around your garage, on your porch and along sidewalks. Don’t feel the need to splurge on big-ticket lighting fixtures – the main goal is just to make sure that they look nice and new and are completely functional!
4. Give Your Driveway Some Love
Like your lawn, your driveway will communicate a lot to a buyer before they ever set foot in your home. Take some time to clean and repair yours. Pull weeds that have grown in the gaps. Repair cracks, trim the edges of your lawn along the concrete. Use a garden hose with a nozzle to clean off any dirt, leaves or debris. If you want to take it a step further – or, if your driveway looks discolored – consider renting or borrowing a pressure washer to remove mildew and stains.
5. Install a New Mailbox
A new mailbox can also help update the front of your home! If yours is old, dented, rusted or scratched, replace it. Again, the goal here isn’t to find the most expensive one or the mailbox with the most shiny features. Instead, a simple, elegant metal mailbox in a color that coordinates with your home will do the trick.
6. Update Hardware
Like your lighting fixtures and your mailbox, updating the hardware on your home will boost your curb appeal. This includes things like doorknobs, your house numbers and more. Latches on your shutters, rusty hinges or handles on fences – any of these little things can be quick, cheap and easy to update.
7. Install Window Boxes
Window ledges hidden behind window boxes overflowing with seasonal blooms will give your home brightness and visual appeal. They can also help to boost how welcoming and friendly your home looks. Depending on where you live and the time of year, they can also attract butterflies and hummingbirds. Select flowers that will fit the overall look of your home – maybe pick a color scheme that coordinates with your newly-painted front door!
8. Get Your Roof Cleaned
This is a bit more cost and time intensive than most of the other suggestions, but is especially important if your home has trees overhanging it. Leaves, mildew and aging stains can make an otherwise sound and healthy roof look unattractive. Consider hiring a professional to clean your roof – or, if you’re comfortable with it, use a tall ladder to get up there and sweep off leaves, small branches and any other debris.
9. Trim Bushes and Trees
This helps make your home look more well-kept. Trim back bushes, take down those branches that are dangling from the last thunderstorm. Rake up leaves, clean up trimmings. Cut off or pluck dead flowers from shrubs. This can be done at the same time as the rest of your lawn manicuring. If you’re wanting to pass this work off, consider hiring a lawn service to come in and do a one-time refresher on your yard.
10. Replace Gutters and Downspouts
Stained, broken and cracked gutters and downspouts can also drag down the curb appeal of a home. Clean out leaves and other things blocking gutters. Replace any that are cracked or damaged. Reattach any downspouts that have come loose, and ensure that drainage is clear so there is no water pooling.
We hope these tips are helpful as you work to sell your home! If you decide to go with a cash buyer, please consider contacting Ben Buys Indy Houses! We will buy your house in as-is condition quickly and easily. Contact us to learn more!
