Curb Appeal Throughout the Year

Despite current market conditions, sellers must do as much as they can to present their homes as best as possible to prospective buyers. Doing so will increase their chances of getting more traffic thru the doors and selling the home. A house that does not look inviting on the outside will only scare and discourage buyers, who will turn around and will not want to continue the tour.

A tour of a home starts on the outside, in the neighborhood, even before reaching the street the home is on. Prospective buyers look at all that surrounds the home, in order to visualize themselves living there. Many buyers confess driving at all different hours of the day and night, to make sure that "all is well" with a house that they are interested in.

One issue sellers face is curb appeal. How the home looks from the outside is important to buyers. Why? They want to see the house as their home, and a property that does not seem welcoming is hard to visualize as a "home sweet home." There are many buyers with vision, and they can get past appearances and focus on potential - but those buyers are far fewer; most buyers are visually stimulated and want to like what they see.

Sellers must present their property in an attractive way the entire time that it is in the market - hopefully, it will sell right away, but if not, then the work will continue on. During the spring, a home should look light and happy. The premises should be uncluttered, grass cut, pots should have flowers, and garden paraphernalia should be kept to a minimum, just as accents, and not excessive. All sidewalks should be cleared of stuff or toys, and be inviting. Bright flowers such as yellow flowers speak of spring and make a happy impression. Pools should be clean, neat, and anything that seems peeling or broken should be painted or replaced. Trim trees and bushes. Display the house number with pride, visible, clean, and painted - if necessary change this detail. The front door should be spotless and inviting.

During the summer, follow the same guidelines for spring. If the sale of the home extends to the fall, start cleaning and replacing pots with appropriate seasonal flowers, sweep the front and back, cover the pool, and rake any leaves. Neatness and cleanliness is the main goal.

During the winter, removal of snow, and having clean walkways and paths is very important, as well as removing any unsightly pots. Foliage that is dead should be removed as well. Overall, a clean and safe appearance should be enforced during winter.

These are just a few seasonal tips that can improve the chances of selling a house.