Jason Gelios Michigan REALTOR®
  • HOME
  • The AskJasonGelios Show
  • FOR SELLERS
    • DIVORCE
    • SELLING TIPS
    • SELLING BY OWNER
  • FOR BUYERS
    • HOME BUYING TIPS
    • GET APPROVED
  • PRESS
  • JASON'S BLOG
  • Jason's Real Estate Book
  • Connect With Jason Gelios
  • TESTIMONIALS
  • PODCAST: AskJasonGelios Show
  • HAPPY LIVING DIGEST
  • SENIORS

8 Tips For Adding Curb Appeal

12/14/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
By: Pat Curry

A good washing, and a bit of color are two low-cost ways.

Homes with high curb appeal command higher prices and take less time to sell. 
But which projects pump up curb appeal most? Here are financially smart ways to boost your home's equity.

#1 Wash Your House’s Face. Before you scrape any paint or plant more azaleas, wash the dirt, mildew, and general grunge off the outside of your house. REALTORS® say washing a house can add $10,000 to $15,000 to the sale prices of some houses. 
A bucket of soapy water and a long-handled, soft-bristled brush can remove the dust and dirt that have splashed onto your wood, vinyl, metal, stucco, brick, and fiber cement siding. Power washers (rental: $75 per day) can reveal the true color of your flagstone walkways.

Wash your windows inside and out, swipe cobwebs from eaves, and hose down downspouts. Don’t forget your garage door, which was once bright white. If you can’t spray off the dirt, scrub it off with a solution of 1/2 cup trisodium phosphate -- TSP, available at grocery stores, hardware stores, and home improvement centers -- dissolved in 1 gallon of water. 

You and a friend can make your house sparkle in a few weekends. A professional cleaning crew will cost hundreds -- depending on the size of the house and number of windows -- but will finish in a couple of days.

#2 Freshen the Paint Job. The most commonly offered curb appeal advice from real estate pros and appraisers is to give the exterior of your home a good paint job. Buyers will instantly notice it, and appraisers will value it.
 
Of course, painting is an expensive and time-consuming face lift. To paint a 3,000-square-foot home, figure on spending $375 to $600 on paint; $1,500 to $3,000 on labor.

Your best bet is to match the paint you already have: Scrape off a little and ask your local paint store to match it. Resist the urge to make a statement with color. An appraiser will mark down the value of a house that’s painted a wildly different color from its competition.

#3 Fix Up the Roof. The condition of your roof is one of the first things buyers notice and appraisers assess. Missing, curled, or faded shingles add nothing to the look or value of your house. If your neighbors have maintained or replaced their roofs, yours will look especially shabby.

You can pay for roof repairs now, or pay for them later in a lower appraisal; appraisers will mark down the value by the cost of the repair. According to the "Remodeling Impact Report" from the National Association of REALTORS®, the national median cost of a new asphalt shingle roof is about $7,500. And if you install a new one, you'll get that back -- plus a bit more. A  new roof has an ROI of 109%.

Some tired roofs look a lot better after you remove 25 years of dirt, moss, lichens, and algae. Don’t try cleaning your roof yourself: call a professional with the right tools and technique to clean it without damaging it. A 2,000-square-foot roof will take a day and $400 to $600 to clean professionally.

#4 Neaten the Yard. A well-manicured lawn, fresh mulch, and pruned shrubs boost the curb appeal of any home.
Replace overgrown bushes with leafy plants and colorful annuals. Surround bushes and trees with dark or reddish-brown bark mulch, which gives a rich feel to the yard. Put a crisp edge on garden beds, pull weeds and invasive vines, and plant a few geraniums in pots.

Green up your grass with lawn food and water. Cover bare spots with seeds and sod, get rid of crab grass, and mow regularly.
 
#5 Add a Color Splash. Even a little color attracts and pleases the eye of would-be buyers.
Plant a tulip border in the fall that will bloom in the spring. Dig a flowerbed by the mailbox and plant some pansies. Place a brightly colored bench or Adirondack chair on the front porch. Get a little daring, and paint the front door red or blue.
Beautiful colors enhance curb appeal and help your house to sell faster.

#6 Glam Up Your Mailbox. An upscale mailbox, architectural house numbers, or address plaques can make your house stand out. 
High-style die cast aluminum mailboxes range from $100 to $350. You can pick up a handsome, hand-painted mailbox for about $50. If you don’t buy new, at least give your old mailbox a face lift with paint and new house numbers. 

These days, your local home improvement center or hardware stores has an impressive selection of decorative numbers. Architectural address plaques, which you tack to the house or plant in the yard, typically range from $80 to $200. Brass house numbers range from $3 to $11 each, depending on size and style.

#7 Add a Fence. A picket fence with a garden gate to frame the yard is an asset. Not only does it add visual punch to your property, appraisers will give extra value to a fence in good condition, although it has more impact in a family-oriented neighborhood than an upscale retirement community. 

Expect to pay $2,000 to $3,500 for a professionally installed gated picket fence 3 feet high and 100 feet long.

If you already have a fence, make sure it’s clean and in good condition. Replace broken gates and tighten loose latches.

#8 Keep Up With Maintenance. Nothing looks worse from the curb -- and sets off subconscious alarms -- like hanging gutters, missing bricks from the front steps, or peeling paint. Not only can these deferred maintenance items damage your home, but they can decrease the value of your house by 10%.

Here are some maintenance chores that will dramatically help the look of your house:
  • Refasten sagging gutters.
  • Repoint bricks that have lost their mortar.
  • Reseal cracked asphalt.
  • Straighten shutters.
  • Replace cracked windows.
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.


    Picture

    Author

    Jason Gelios is a  Husband and Father. After that, a Top Producing REALTOR®, Author of the books 'Think like a REALTOR®' and 'Beating The Force Of Average', Creator of The AskJasonGelios Real Estate Show and Expert Media Contributor to media outlets across the country.

    Jason is dedicated to providing real estate advice and education to home owners, buyers and sellers with content that is practical and based on real world situations.

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    July 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    April 2015

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

About Jason Gelios
For Buyers
For Sellers
Think Like a REALTOR® Real Estate book
Valuable Resources
AskJasonGelios Real Estate Show
Jason Gelios' Real Estate Blog​

In the press

Contact Jason Gelios
Copyright    All Rights Reserved    Reach Jason Gelios Direct at 586-419-2231    jasongelios@itsallabouttherealestate.com
Photos used under Creative Commons from wuestenigel, MarkMoz12, Spencer Means, Mrs Airwolfhound, r.nial.bradshaw, MarkMoz12
  • HOME
  • The AskJasonGelios Show
  • FOR SELLERS
    • DIVORCE
    • SELLING TIPS
    • SELLING BY OWNER
  • FOR BUYERS
    • HOME BUYING TIPS
    • GET APPROVED
  • PRESS
  • JASON'S BLOG
  • Jason's Real Estate Book
  • Connect With Jason Gelios
  • TESTIMONIALS
  • PODCAST: AskJasonGelios Show
  • HAPPY LIVING DIGEST
  • SENIORS