Most potential property buyers search the internet on sites such as www.mls.ca.  They form first impressions based on pictures and if a house does not look appealing, they often pass it by.  I’ve seen this happen so many times myself and know first hand the importance of showcasing your house and property to create the best possible first impression.

We often don’t see our own homes with a critical eye because we’ve looked at the same things for so long, we don’t really see them anymore in a realistic light.  Here are some tips to help.

Take a few digital pictures at different angles from the street.  Sometimes seeing a photograph on a computer screen helps you to see it more realistically.  Ask others what they suggest needs improvement.

Clean up!  Power wash dirty siding, gutters, walkways, the driveway and decks where possible.  Put away toys, garden implements, old tires or whatever else may be forgotten outside.  Clean the windows inside and out and polish door hardware.

Landscaping is important and too often overgrown shrubs are missed.  Trim them back, cut off dead tree limbs and cut the grass.  Please take the gnomes and pink flamingos out of the flower beds.  Don’t forget that buyers will often try to see your backyard too from various vantage points.

Lighting plays a key role in the evenings when buyers are often driving buy properties on their list.  Leave an outside light on (preferably solar) and consider a few to line walk-ways or to highlight gardens.

Little things can make a huge difference such as a new mailbox, window boxes, flowers by the front door (yellow is most welcoming), a few new trees in planters to soften hard edges, a Vintage screen door (if appropriate to the style of the house) and shutters.  I recently listed a charming home for sale where the owners did all the right things to reflect the quality and charm of the home a buyer can expect inside.  This picture shows what the house looked like when the purchased it compared to today.  Isn’t it amazing?  (By the way, if you’d like to view a Real Estate Show featuring this home, click here.)

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 13th, 2007 at 4:09 pm and is filed under Architecture/Design, Home Maintenance, Selling Real Estate, Transformations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.