"I could move things around a little," I suggested. "But your problem is not the interior. Walk with me to the curb." She followed me to the street.
"Now describe what do you see?" I asked as she turned around. "I see what you mean," she said. "The front of the house doesn't begin to tell the story of all the updating that has taken place inside. In fact, there have been times people made an appointment and then didn't get out of the car when they pulled up."
The old overgrown azaleas and camellias dominated most of the front yard and covered the quaint front porch. I recommended that she pull them out completely and plant low-growing hawthorn plants next to the foundation. Then she needed to sod the space where the large plants had been. This added some extra real estate. These compact, Charleston style yards, are small anyway and then there is a sidewalk eating up some more space. After the changes were made, the home sold overnight.
Curb Appeal isn't just an after thought. It's the pretty face that gets the date to the prom! Who cares that you spent a fortune for the dress and shoes.
Since 90% of homebuyers look online before deciding which homes to tour, the first picture, the front of the house, may be the most important one.
I bumped into one of my staging clients awhile back and she said her house had not sold after a long time on the market. I was shocked since our average DOM is about 14 to21 days.
She remarked that the online stats revealed that 1500 people were looking at the first picture, the front of the house, but only 500 opted to look inside. What a shame! The interior, which was staged, showed well and was beautiful and updated.
After reviewing the online picture of the front, I realized what caused the problem. The hedge around the house had obscured the photographer's view so he had to walk up the driveway to get the whole house into the picture.
It appeared like the property was tiny when in fact, it was huge. I suggested an aerial photo which fixed the problem and the house sold within a few weeks.
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Aerial Photo |
How can you judge your property for Curb Appeal? Look at it through the lens of a camera from across the street. This is a powerful tip to objectively view your most important picture.
Obviously, a manicured lawn, fresh mulch and annuals go a long way to freshen things up. One of our "tricks of the trade" is too use Design Master acrylic floral spray in green to camouflage a brown spot on the lawn. We once used it to "revive" a frost-bitten brown sago palm till the new summer fronds appeared.
Sometimes the shutters or front door need a coat of fresh paint and a color change. Your tarnished hardware can be restored with Oil-Rubbed Bronze paint from Ace Hardware. And certainly, everything must be immaculate. See my Pinterest page for more tips.
Pinterest Link
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Orange Door |
So, put on a pretty face to get that date to the prom. All of your curb appeal efforts will result in more showings. More traffic means a faster sale and more money.