You hear about Curb Appeal when selling or buying a house, but what is it and how do you get it?
Does it means the house has nice curbs?  Well, that's a good start  but Curb Appeal to the buyer means that when they see a picture of your exterior on the MLS, a mental "check mark" is placed by your listing.  
 
Curb Appeal means that when  a Buyer drives by your house, they want to schedule a viewing appointment through their Realtor.

Curb Appeal means that when Your Buyer pulls up for their appointment, they want to go in and they are eager to see the rest of the house. 

Curb Appeal sets the tone for the rest of the viewing.  Your Buyer is now predisposed to want to like the house.  They are hoping the interior will match what they just saw.                                                                                                                                  

So, how do you get it?  Here are  10 points to consider:

1. Take a Walk!  It's not just a healthy thing to do, but sometimes we're complacent with our surroundings.  So, take a walk (or slow drive ) around your neighborhood and look at the curb appeal of your neighbors.   You might see that your lawn is not really green but yellow/brown/green when compared with your neighbors.    Make note of the houses that appeal to you and  what stands out.  

                                                                    

2. Pay Your House a Visit!   Most of us enter our homes through the garage or back door.  When is the last time you "called on" your own home?  What you see is what your Buyers will see.  Don't be shy.  Start at the driveway or by the curb and pretend you're  looking at your home through a buyer's eyes.  Take a critical look.  
     Cracks in the sidewalk?  Are you dodging overhanging limbs?  And what does your Welcome Mat say??  One of my favorite mats was at a friend's back door.  It said "Go Away" .  I love it, but.... not for welcoming your buyers.  
     If you have planters and pots who have been waiting to host a new, healthy plant for a few years now, then ditch them.

                  
     
3.  Off with their heads (or legs).  Take a look at your poor neglected flowers.  Time to "dead head" them.  Remove the flowers that have seen their best days.  And particularly here in Florida where plants can grow several feet overnight, it's important to take a look at some of those plants that have gotten too leggy .  You know the ones I mean.... you start to see more stem and branch then green leaves.  Trust me, those stems are just going to get leggier and the green will be at the very top of the bush.  
     Why is this so important?  Neglected landscaping says to your Buyer that there are probably other areas of or in the house that have also been neglected.

                                                                                                                   

4.  Color My World!  Like your interior paint scheme, adding "pops" of color in your landscaping takes it from being all green and bland to exciting.  
     You can take a large clay pot and fill it with whatever colorful flower is in season.  Caution: Do not plant anything that will take daily watering and care if your schedule will not permit that.
     
5.  Cover it Up!!   It's amazing what a layer of fresh mulch does for dirt.  Think of a 3 layer chocolate cake with raspberry filling.  Without the ganache frosting, though, it's just cake.  Add the frosting and now you have a beautiful dessert. Same thing with mulch.
                                                                                           

6.  Get a Handle on it!   Your buyer walks up to your front door with her Realtor.  More than likely they will spend some time there as the Realtor has to fidget with the lock box or whatever and then fiddle with the keys to open the door.  
     What are the Buyers doing???  They're eying the place!  They have plenty of time here to notice that your once beautiful door handle is now rusted or tarnished.    Or they may see your former beautiful wood door is discolored and fading.  
     Time to hit Home Depot or Lowes.  It's a very small investment for the return you'll get.

7.  Oh what a Tangled Web We Weave.... As mentioned in #6, your buyers will have plenty of time as they're waiting to enter your home to size it up.  If they have to walk through spider webs to even make it to your front door, then unless they're into long nature walks, this is not a good feature.   Also look up by your door and garage.  Check out the corners for those pesky webs.  

                                                  

                                                              

8.  Heads UP:  What takes up a large part of a buyer's visual space when they approach your home?  Your roof!  It has to pass inspections anyway so take care of whatever needs to be done BEFORE you list it.  Can it be cleaned?  Re-shingled?  
      What you don't want it to say to the Buyer is:   "That's another $30,000 we have to put into the house if we buy it."

9.  Mail Call!  In front of some of our houses here in South Florida  stand manatees with mailboxes for their mouths.   Now I love manatees but in reality, they're not a pretty animal.  I've also seen mailboxes that finally got tired of being straightened after being endlessly hit and have now given up and have a defeated look to them.  
     Get my drift?  Sellers, your mailbox is one of the first things your buyer will see.  Make it count.

                                                                                

10.  Valet please!  Everyone in the family has a car now.  There's probably one waiting for your 10 year old when he or she comes of age.  Unless you have a super-sized driveway and front yard, filling your driveway with all of your cars thus making your buyer have to walk a maze to get to your front door detracts from the experience.  
      When showing your house, arrange to have your cars either in the garage or elsewhere.  Let your Buyer see the house!

What all of this boils down to is that you want the viewing experience for the buyer to be a positive one and that will start with the curb appeal of your house.   The investment you make can pay off with a quick sale.
 
For more information enlist the services of your local professional home stager.

 

Room Service! Home Staging
561-914-6224

Kathy@MrsHomeStaging.com
http://www.MrsHomeStaging.com

 

 

          

What is it about Model homes that make them so appealing?  Is it the freshness of all new; is it the sassy paint colors, the perfectly placed furniture, art and accessories or the beautiful groomed backyard that makes you want to plop right down on that comfy club chair, or light the grill on the patio?  Well.... Yes to all the above.  A builder hold hosts to an array of skilled professionals to make that Model beautiful.  From blue print to drawer pulls that Model home is meticulously planned.

Beyond the nicely placed furniture, Model homes are the current reflection of the home environment needs of the target market of the Builder.  They are a turn-key product, designed & packaged for the desires of perfect buyer.

Models homes are lovely because they have the latest and the greatest, are fresh and new and are meticulously detailed.  Psychology, more than decorating is applied to makes them look so fabulous.  From architecture to floral arrangements, Model homes are planned with "YOU" in mind.  

So how can you the Realtor make your next listing as appealing as a Model Home? - Here are 10 ways.

•1.)    Clean.  Those nice angled vacuum lines, gleaming windows, and perfectly manicured lawns in Model homes speak to a potential buyer - You don't have to do a thing.   A Realtor can translate that into - A little elbow grease goes a long way.  A super clean home says "turn-key" to the potential buyer.  Have every inch of the home, blind slats to porch light glass, super clean and perfectly coiffed.  According to a national 2009 survey done by Home Gain (www.homegain.com,) a $100-$200 cleaning investment gives an 872% return!

•2.)    Fresh & Smells Good.  People buy homes on emotion, and your 5 senses are a direct path to your brain.  If a home smells and looks "funky," "doggy," "smoky," or if the stove is coated with  cooking gone bad - The home is off their list.  Just like you would detail your car to sell, invest in clean and spotless carpets, patched, repaired and freshly painted walls and new appliances if the old have seen better days.  Be wary to skip this step and take the low road with room refreshers, candles and stove burner covers - Potential buyers are not fooled.

•3.)    Color.  Any advertising executive will tell you color is key to properly packaging a product; and a listed home is just that, a product.  Throw away the off-white manta of old school home staging rules - Welcome to the era of HGTV. Using color is a powerful and inexpensive way of making that home stand out from the rest, and with so many decorating TV shows boasting the benefits of color, you better get hip to hues.   From 1^st Web impressions to curb-appeal, color is a strong emotional tug for the potential buyer.  Update yourself on the latest color trends in wall color, appliance, fixtures, etc... and apply it to your target buyer.  For home staging, use earthy, calm tones for the bigger areas such as wall color and add pops of saturated colors in the details; such front doors, accessories or annuals.

•4.)    Make Space.  The joy of a Model home is the acres and acres of unused storage space & beautifully organized closets.  Reduce, organize, upscale and edit all the home's spaces when it comes to closets and storage areas.  If the home's price point dictates, upscale the closets with custom organizing options.

•5.)    Clear a Path.  Consider that many people with be walking through the home.  Make sure traffic patterns, entrances and exits are well established.  Too much furniture, undefined entrances and awkward walkways confuse and discourage buyers from moving about the property.  Follow a Model Home's lead and create a concise walking pattern for potential buyers starting a curbside to back fence.  

•6.)    Lovely Layouts. From the landscape to furniture placement, take a clue from Models homes that continuity and flow make for a good mix.  Create curb appeal with nicely maintained landscaping, added annuals and perennials, an inviting stoop and well groomed walk and driveways.  Inside, make sure each room depicts what its function is, enhances the highlights of the room (i.e. fireplaces or upgrades,) and allows the buyer to envision themselves in the space.

•7.)    Set the Mood. Create ambiance and character in the home with well thought out placement of sensory and lifestyle components.  Soft music, lighting on dimmers, candles lit, and fresh floral are all great ideas for Broker or Open houses. If you have concern about candles, battery operated candles that even have timers built in are now readily available.   Stage the dining room table tastefully, or set the stage in a back yard with a detailed patio retreat.  Offering helpful lifestyle hints has always been in the Model Home arsenal and always a huge hit.

•8.)    K.I.S.S. On the opposite note, don't over accessorize, go over-board with the lifestyle tips or create "store bought theme" rooms (i.e. Chef-with-a-Hat Kitchen or Anniversary Bathtub area complete with Champagne bottle.)

•9.)    Appeal to a Target Buyer.  Consider "WHO" the ideal buyer is that will be interested in the property, and market the property accordingly.  From advertising photos to furniture, consider who will find this appealing and desirable. 

•10.) Market, Market, Market.  Model Homes have great marketing incentives inside and out.  From clear address markers, great signs, to small exit giveaways, to survey - market that listing to the fullest.  

 

Julea Joseph of Reinventing Space has created her own recipe for success with her signature Interior Stylist Philosophy.  Always a few steps ahead, Julea launched her home design business in 1999 when interior redesign & home staging were just in their infancy.  Rather than offering just redesign and staging, she developed a menu of blended services that fully embraces and captures the lifestyle of a home - She Celebrates the Soul of a Home.