10 Spruce-Up Tips in 10 Days. Get More Added Value to Your Home Before You Put it on the Market!!

Day 1~ Curb Appeal

This is by far one of the things that so many homeowners seem to overlook when preparing to put their home on the market, and I'm not sure why. It's like going on a first date without making sure your clothes match, or you don't have your make-up on!

If potential buyers pull up to your home, there are weeds everywhere, the landscaping hasn't been refreshed, and the lawn is a hot mess, what does that say about the inside of the home? If you can't take care of the exterior, many buyers will assume that the inside is unkempt as well. After searching several sites, including Forbes.com and psychologicalscience.org, it takes anywhere between one tenth of a second to seven seconds to develop an opinion of someone or something.

So now, you're wondering what you can do to not only make a fantastic first impression, but also recoup what you invest. According to the article “Top 15 Home Updates That Pay Off” on FrontDoor.com, you can expect to get up to 100% of your money back that you put into your landscape! And if you do the work on your own, you will be adding sweat equity, and your return could be much higher. However, don't take on more than you know you can handle. You don't want your yard to turn into an even worse turn-off than it already was! Contact a landscape designer who can come up with a plan. If you're comfortable with following their design plan and doing the work on your own, then GREAT! You'll pay for the plan, the plants, and you can add extra value with your own sweat equity. If you're not comfortable with it, however, leave the work to the pros!

There are some simple things you can do on your own, that could make a huge impact, though. One easy fix is adding planters to your front entrance and rear entrance. It makes it seem fresh and appears inviting. And please make sure that the planters are clean, fresh and inviting! (In another post, I'm going to talk about cleaning the porch...) If your porch is large enough, maybe a rocking chair or bistro set will add some charm! In the back, add an eating area and possibly a fire pit. Home buyers want to envision making s'mores by the fire, entertaining friends, or maybe reading a book on a porch. The possibilities are endless!

Remember to keep it simple. You don't have to spend thousands to make your yard look like a million!