Not sure how to get your Sacramento home ready to sell?

I’m going to be sharing six curb appeal updates that you can easily do to get your home ready to sell but before I jump in with some ways you can update the curb appeal of your home, I’d like to invite you to check out my seller’s guide.

What’s our goal for these curb appeal updates? Number one, we want to make sure buyers fall in love with your house before they even walk through the door. We also want to use these tips to help you sell your home faster for more money.

If you’re wondering how much you should spend on curb appeal updates, you don’t really have to spend a lot. We just want to make sure that the updates you do are going to add value to the home. The things I share in this blog are low cost and some of them are no cost.

Curb Appeal Tip 1

My number one tip is paint. Do you have to paint your home? Many times clients ask me this and the answer is, “It depends.” If your paint is chipped, or faded or it doesn’t look great, then it’s probably going to add a lot of value if your paint your home before you sell. If you have a bright colored home or a home that is a very different color from other homes in the neighborhood, then sometimes those homes can take longer to sell and be harder to sell too.

I usually recommend if you’re going to paint your home that you choose a neutral color. Grays are really popular right now and white’s also a classic choice. Drive around your neighborhood and take a look at the homes and see what colors appeal to you when you’re driving by. If you live in a community with an HOA, you’re going to want to make sure that you get approval to paint that color before you do it. If your paint is in pretty good shape, you may want to consider painting the trim a different color or repainting the trim. This can really refresh the whole look of your home.

Curb Appeal Tip 2

If it’s broken, you better fix it. Buyers are notorious for checking the doorbell when they go to the house. It’s one of the first things they do. So make sure your doorbell’s working.

Make sure that handle that wiggles when you open the door is tightened up or replace your door handle. Repair that crack in the front window or replace that broken blind that your cat wrecked on that window next to the front door. In general, you want to make sure you’ve made any small repairs that might be needed, but this is especially true with things around the entrance to the home because this is a buyer’s introduction to your home. They are going to notice everything in this area. Things that need repair can be distracting to buyers and keep them from falling in love with your home. Instead of appreciating your home they are keep a mental tab of all the costs of the repairs and updates your home needs. You don’t want buyers to feel like this!

Curb Appeal Tip 3

Give your landscaping a refresh. You’re going to want to keep your grass mowed and you’re also going to want to give it plenty of water so it’ll be nice and green when you get those photos before you sell.

Another tip is that if you have hoses out in the front yard, roll them up neatly, or you may want to simply store them in the garage. They can look a little distracting in photos. You want to make sure that you remove any dead or dying plants and trees. You also want to trim back trees and landscape plants, especially around the house. This is going to allow buyers to see your house and appreciate it. If you’ve got bare dirt, put some bark on it to make it look more finished. This really helps a lot even if you don’t have a lot of plants.

Lastly, add some color with flowers, a pot on the porch or in a flower bed at the front of your yard. This is really going to improve the curb appeal of your home. And it’s going to photograph beautifully.

Curb Appeal Tip 4

Make sure your home is clean on the outside. This is really important. Take the time to knock down cobwebs. You want to power wash the outside of your home but be careful when you do. Also power wash the driveway and any sidewalks, walkways, and make sure you include the area of the sidewalk that’s in front of your home too. Buyers are going to notice this area in front of your home the moment they step out of their car.

Curb Appeal Tip 5

Make your entrance feel welcoming. This is going to be really important because a lot of times buyers are waiting on your front porch while their realtor is getting the front door open. Adding a cheerful welcome mat, a cute welcome sign and a bench or chair (if there’s room) are other ways to make your front porch feel more welcoming to buyers.

Buyers often spend a lot of time in this spot without anything to do, so give them some things that are nice to look at. Another thing that really helps with making your front entrance welcoming is to paint your front door. Colors that are really popular with buyers right now are surprisingly black or charcoal. The least favorite color is yellow. But choose a color that makes you feel good and that you feel makes a welcoming front entrance.

Curb Appeal Tip 6

Update your house numbers. If you have an older home, then you might have very dated house numbers. This is going to make your home feel old and not really move in ready.

Choose some modern, simple house numbers that are going to show up well on the front of your house. As an added bonus, updating your house numbers will ensure that buyers and the realtors showing your house can find it easily.

These simple curb appeal updates are all things you can do to help buyers fall in love with your home before they even walk through the door. Getting your home ready to sell really isn’t so hard when you know what you need to do.

Check out my next post where I’m going to be talking about tips you can use to update your backyard space.

So long for now from Susan Knows Sacramento.