The first impression anyone ever has of your home is from the curb. Whether it is a visit from the in-laws or a prospective buyer, you want everyone looking up at your home from the street to see a well maintained, clean, and desirable property. Here are five fixes to improve your home’s curb appeal.

Fix Up the Yard

In some parts of the country, the yard is a serious point of pride for a home. You don’t want to give the impression that you don’t care, so start with the grass when working on the curb appeal.

If you have any dead patches, spread new seed (make sure you have the right type of seed) in the dead patches. Water on the best schedule for your lawn, use an edger to give the edge of your lawn a clean transition, pull weeds, fertilize, and rake regularly.

Trim the Hedges

Now that the grass is take care of, move up to the bushes and shrubs around your home and yard. If you have any overgrown bushes, pull out the clippers and trim them back, but there is a lot more you can do.  Your yard will also look better if you cut all the lower branches off your trees and lift the canopy.

Pull out dead plants and either cleanly landscape the space or adding something new that will bring great color and life to your yard. You can dream big and re-landscape portions of your yard, or simply focus on getting the best results from what you already have growing.

Paint

Little brings new life to a house more than a fresh coat of paint when the old colors or drab, outdated, or peeling.

The most popular colors for new homes today are warm, neutral colors. Make sure your home’s colors work well with the neighborhood and complement the building’s architectural features.

If you want to keep the same colors but don’t have extra paint, you can chip off a small sample and take it into any paint or major hardware store and they will mix a bucket that matches your home’s color so you can do touchups without worrying about repainting the entire house.

Update Window Coverings

It is bad enough if you have to look at ugly curtains and blinds from the inside, but if those outdated, broken, or ugly window coverings can be seen from the street, it is time to upgrade.

Remember that windows are seen from both inside and outside, so make sure you pick something that will help your home look great from all angles. Just like with paint, you will be best served with warm, neutral colors like white, tan, or light brown. Be sure to match the colors to both the external features and internal colors when deciding between blinds, curtains, or other options.

Clear the Gutters

If you want to show that your house is cared for and well maintained, you can’t skip the details. One easy detail to fix is cleaning out the gutters.

From the street, seeing branches and leaves overflowing the gutters, particularly if it is anytime of the year other than fall, is not becoming. Even worse, if someone comes by when it is raining, seeing water pouring over the top of a gutter will bring around thoughts like flooding and water damage.

Take the time to clean out your gutters so the water can flow down without obstruction a few times a year.

Curb Appeal is Important

When people are buying a home, they are buying the whole package. They want a home the is clean, well maintained, and something they can be proud of. Showing that you take great care of the home will help any sale go easily and smoothly.

If you are thinking of selling, be sure to find the right agent, and be ready to show off your home to get what it is really worth.  Here are some other great curb appeal tips.

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