Curb Appeal-ing Your Home
One of the biggest attractions that go overlooked by homeowners is curb appeal. Find out why, and how you can avoid making the same mistake.
What is curb appeal? Is it worth the effort? Will it break my bank? Those are a few questions homeowners will ask themselves when they plan to put their home up for rent. But lets start at the beginning – what is “curb appeal”? Curb appeal is how attractive your home is on the exterior. Things that make up the attraction range from the front lawn, flowers or bushes, front windows, and paint to name just a few. How well these items are maintained will determine how much curb appeal your home has.
As a homeowner, you might be thinking, “No one really bothers about the outside of the home, it’s the inside that really pulls in the prospective tenants.” That simply is not the case. Curb appeal is everything to tenants! It’s the first impression that they get and it will decide whether or not they will even consider looking inside. If you are trying to rent your home, you want to bring in people, not make them drive away. If your home has chipped paint, mud for a lawn, dead plants, and oil stains in the driveway, do you think you will be able to rent out your home? On the off chance you just might. But it would have attracted the wrong kind of tenants – the kind of tenant who will most likely treat your property poorly. You don’t want that, believe me!
Lets say you put on a fresh coat of paint, have the lawn full of green grass that has been manicured to perfection, clean windows, and stain-free driveway. You will have a much better chance of leasing your property much faster, AND you will manage to bring in the right kind of tenant who will take care of your home the way you would want it to be taken care of. In the long run, curb appealing you home is worth the effort and can save you future headaches.
Sounds like the thing to do, right? But now the voice in the back of your head is saying, “If I curb appeal my home, it’s going to cost a lot of money – money I don’t have.” Now-a-days most homeowners don’t have a lot of money to throw around to improve the curb appeal of their home. So don’t fret, you’re not alone! We have entered an age where DIY websites and books are all the rage, so people don’t have to pull out their Franklins anymore. Below are a few tricks you can do to spruce up the exterior of your home:
- Weed and water your lawn on a weekly basis.
- Trim all surrounding bushes and mow the lawn.
- Make sure your gutters are secure and clean of leaves and debri that might be hanging over the edges.
- Put a brand new doormat in front of the door.
- Make sure your windows are sparkling with cleanliness and screens have no tears.
- Replace any lights that are burnt out or broken.
- Place new bird feeders around your home or clean the ones you have.
- Make sure your fence is in good condition. Replace any planks that are broken.
- Put a fresh coat of paint on the front of your home.
- Remove any personal items, children, or pet toys from the front of the house.
- Replace outdated hardware such as mailbox, doorknobs, and fixtures.
- Dress up the front door with a splash of color or add potted flowers on the sides.
- Add shutters or accent trim to exterior windows and lining of the home.
- Make sure the drive way is clean of oil stains and weeds.
Doing just a few of these things will greatly enhance the curb appeal of your home in no time at all. It will not only give a great first impression to prospective tenants, but will help make them feel like they are already home.
Real Property Management Select has helped hundreds of property owners enhance the Curb Appeal of their rental properties. Do you need help turning your house into a home? Call RPM today to find out what we can do for you.