When you are looking to buy a property, first impressions count. After all, if you see a house that looks shabby, you will be inclined to pass it by. So to make your property stand out, you will need to make it appealing to the buyer from the outset. How can you do this? Here we look at some simple ways to improve your curb appeal and make your home more marketable.

Does Your Garden Need a Trim?

If you have a garden in front of your property, then you need to ask yourself if it looks tidy or not. It might be worth asking close friends for their unbiased opinions, just to be on the safe side. A nicely mown lawn and neatly pruned hedges will go a long way towards enhancing the look of your home. Hiring a gardener for a few days will make a big difference, too, especially when it comes to the marketing pictures. Prospective buyers will be impressed by the easy to keep garden. If you have a paved front lot, then spending a few days power-washing and weeding the edges will also help.

Refinishing the Exterior Woodwork

Once you have a lovely looking garden, you don’t want spoil it by having a fence that could do with a lick of paint. Maybe all it needs is a good wash down, but you might need to sand it down and give it a couple of coats of milk paint, which is highly suitable for exterior woodwork. A freshly painted white picket fence will make it stand out from your neighbors, though it might be worthwhile asking if you can give theirs a spruce up at the same time. This might cost you a few extra dollars, but it will improve the curb appeal of your home if your neighbor’s property looks smart, too.

Other areas that could do with a refresh are windows, door frames and porches. You don’t want to go overboard though, as it will appear too obvious. You can tone it down by using a ‘Shabby Chic’ effect on your porch, which is quite popular at the minute and gives a lovely distressed finish. This may go down well if you have a similar effect inside with your furniture.

Create a Welcoming Approach

Selling your property in the summer enables you to have the benefit of the long daylight hours. As the seasons close in, from fall through to winter, you start to lose the light. A good way to enhance your home during these darker days is to install lights along your driveway. Not only does this enhance the curb appeal by making your home stand out, it also adds to the security by removing dark areas. Burglars prefer to stay in the shadows, so anything that prevents your home being targeted by a would-be thief will also be noticed as a favorable feature by prospective buyers.

When it comes to preparing your home for the property market, don’t underestimate the exterior curb appeal. The interior may be what the prospective buyer wants, but you don’t want the packaging to let the contents down.