Importance of Curb Appeal

The "For Sale" and "Open House" signs are popping up like dandelions in Richmond Hill and Thornhill front yards. Home buyers are buzzing through neighbourhoods to check the new listings. Curb appeal is the nectar that beckons buyers to stop and sniff the flowers. Peeling paint, overgrown shrubbery and an unkempt appearance is a buzz kill. Buyers read "keep out" when the message should be "welcome."

Prospective home buyers usually make up their minds about viewing a home less than 10 seconds after seeing the exterior. If they don't like what they see outside, nothing a real estate agent says or does will get them in the front door.

Even if the interior has been redone, they don't want to stop and go in. People want to be excited about coming home to their house every day. It sends a subliminal message when a potential buyer drives up and sees everything is neat, clean and in its place. That says 'this is a great home' and sends the message that if the exterior is taken care of, probably they've cared for the interiors, too.

Make the front entry as welcoming and warm as possible. That front door needs to be clean, the glass sparkling, the porch cleaned up, and the welcome mat out.

The better dressed your home, the more people want to see it. Make it inviting. Repaint, hose down the siding, make sure the landscaping is trimmed back and presentable. Step back and be objective. Ask yourself, 'Would I want to go into this house or would I pass it by?'