Real Estate Curb Appeal

First Impressions are Lasting Impressions!

Curb Appeal is the First and Most Important Factor in Selling your Home. It is a known and proven fact among realtors across the nation that the home owner who spends more time on improving the face of their home sells first. This preparation should start months prior to placing your house on the market. The following is a list of tips on preparing your home for sale:

Step 1: Define what should be done

Start by creating a prioritized list of features you want to repair or improve on in your home. Drive through a nice neighborhood or row of houses that you have seen before and caught your eye. Make a list of the things that impress you the most or the things that stand out. You can also look at magazines and catalogs, but understand that what you see in magazines can be unrealistic. Just like beauty magazines only make you feel ugly: most nice house magazines are designed to make your house look bad so that you will go out to purchase their sponsor's products.

Step 2: Establish a budget

Establishing a budget can be the toughest step of all. There are things you would like to do and things you just can't do. First determine exactly what funding you have available. Unless you are into property investing and real estate resale for profit, do not go out and refinance or pull all your equity out of your home. If you are selling your house it would be better to collect your equity at the point of closing the sale of your home. New windows and siding is a good selling point on your asking price for your house and if you can afford it by all means have it done. However, you should shop around for the best price and the right contractor. New siding or windows for a home can cost from $8,000 to $20,000. I consulted with two major national home improvement agencies. Their estimate on my home came out at $16,500 and $15,000. I then had a local reputable contractor to give me an estimate based on the same requirements and his price was $8,000. A small time contractor quoted $7,000 for the same work. As you can see the price range is wide.

Tip: Tell the contractor who comes to estimate your project that you only have X amount of dollars (less than what you really have)! If you state that you have $15,000 then that’s exactly what you will be charged.

Some contractor's have commissions built into the price they quote. With the major chain home improvements you will obtain warranties that you may be able to pass on your buyer. However, you should remember that you are fixing up the home for someone else's benefit. If you can pass on a minimum warranty, good clean looks, and the comfort of not having to do major work to the home's exterior for the first few years that should be sufficient. Remember your objective is curb appeal with little extras, not major home renovations. You don't have to spend your life savings.