Assessing Curb Appeal

August 18, 2014 Editorial Staff

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(Family Features) So you’re looking to move your family out of your current residence to a new home better suited for your needs. Before you list your home on the market you will need to gauge its appearance to prospective buyers.

Over time, a homeowner can grow accustomed to a home’s faults and shortcomings. Here are some tips and questions to ask yourself while evaluating the curb appeal of your market-bound home:

Remove Emotional Attachment

The first rule is to get rid of any personal thoughts about your home. This can be difficult, but consider what you want from this experience – to put the least amount of work into getting the highest amount of money for your house. Go into the experience viewing your home as a house.

Pretend You’re the Prospective Homebuyer

Park your car down the street or at the end of your driveway. Make sure your vantage point is far enough away you see the entire house and yard. It is important to do this in the morning and at night to get good perspective of how your home looks at all hours. You can count on an interested homebuyer driving by many times, even at night.

During these exercises, ask yourself these questions:

What are your first impressions of the house, driveway and landscaping? Think back to when you were the prospective homebuyer to remember the advantages and disadvantages of the house and yard.

What drew you to the home? How can you improve upon these features?

Are there any eyesores? How can you enhance them or make them smaller?

What is the least amount of money and time you can spend to make these changes?

Make Affordable Upgrades

Here are a few simple ways to add upgrades for some extra curb appeal:

Install new hardware on doors.

Throw a fresh coat of paint on the exterior of your home.

Add potted plants to the front doorway or porch.

Install window boxes

Record the Experience

Take before and after pictures to properly record the experience. As you are working towards these improvements you will be happy to have something to look back at. Also, photographs will point out little issues you may otherwise overlook if going off of memory.

Taking a few extra steps to evaluate the appearance of your home can get your house on the market sooner, and get you on your way to your next dream home.