The view from the street is where buyers start, so it should be where sellers start too. “People judge if they want to see a house based on the exterior picture they see on the Internet, so curb appeal is critical,” says Aileen Muise of Signature Design Consultants of Dover. “Not considering your curb appeal or exterior is like trying to sell your car without detailing it first.”
Getting a landscaper to clean up edges and mulch is a good idea, and she adds that overgrown plantings are one of the most common problems she runs into: “The planting themselves can date a house. And the scale of planting needs to relate to the size of the house the way furniture in a room does.”
“People are going to look at the photos, then they are going to drive by the house,” says Pam Tiberia of Spruce Interiors in Hampton. “The closer you get the more flaws you see. So if there are any flaws from the curb, it is going to give them a reason to pass on your home.” She lists power washing, weeding, and fresh mulch as crucial to a polished exterior. “Then add sparkle,” she adds. “Get a potted plant, matching containers or something seasonal.”
“I tell clients they need to make the home shine on the Internet since that is where you have to entice people,” says Deb McLaughlin of Deb’s Décor, a home staging and interior design firm in Bedford. “Be sure there is no peeling paint, personal yard decals or pet holes. Where the Realtor starts the tour is the most important place to start. Make sure that entry area is the best it can be. And I recommend painting your front door — so many front doors are so blah.”
Think of Your Home as a Product
Tiberia says that she tells clients the most basic thing to remember is the house is now a product, something you would pull off a shelf. “People gravitate towards packaging, so we want to do everything we can to improve that packaging. It’s important to put yourself in the buyers’ perspective.”
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