Real Estate Articles

As the seller of a home, first impressions are everything.

In today's changing real estate market, there are more homes on the market than there are buyers looking for a home to buy.

When a real estate agent is showing properties to buyers, the usual number of homes to show in one day is six. Whether your home is first or last, you must think of how the house looks from the outside as a car drives by. This is a quick look and a buyer will make a decision in seconds.

If the outside of your house doesn't catch the eye in the first few seconds, it is very possible that a buyer will tell their agent they don't even want to stop to see the inside of your house and the inside might be just exactly what that particular buyer wants!

As is said in the real estate industry, curb appeal means everything.

Make sure your lawn is green, mowed and trimmed. If you have large bushes that actually take away from your front yard or cover the entrance, either take them out or trim them back.

Color is also a very big item. When there are flowers in bloom and a buyer sees colors it tends to make you happy. You want to see what might be going on inside the house. Don't go overboard, however, and put in so many flowering plants that you yard looks like a nursery.

Another thing to consider is palm trees. They have been very popular for years, however, when you have the type of palm tree that grows really tall and has large leaves that tend to die and fall off, many people forget those need to be trimmed up as well

If your house needs paint on the outside, please paint it. Use a neutral color that goes with most anything. When blues and yellows are used, many buyers feel they are going to have to paint and that is an added expense.

Make sure all your trim looks clean and has no paint chipping off.

If your paint is in good shape, just use a presser washer to make sure your house and trim look clean and free of dirt or cobwebs.

If your driveway is full of oil marks, go to your local home improvement store and obtain the proper cleaners. There are some great items on the market today to help you get your driveway nearly as good as when it was new.

If you have a garage door that is not one of the new roll-up types, you might want to consider having one put in. They are not terribly expensive and they make a huge difference in the way the outside of the house looks. A buyer can make a snap decision based only on how the garage door is. Today's buyer is going to look at an old pull-up type garage door and immediately know they will need to replace it with a roll-up door and to a buyer that is an added expense they don't really want to spend.

Again, you may have a home the buyer really wants and they may not even want to get out of their agent's car to see the inside.

The point here is, you must make the outside of your home shine in order to draw a buyer to want to see the inside. It only takes a buyer a few seconds when they pull up in front of your house as to whether or not they will even go inside.