How to Make Your Home Stand Out For a Fast Sale

By Debbie Braun

We all notice a beautifully landscaped front yard or a freshly painted porch with cozy new furniture because it stands out. If you’re considering selling your home during the summer, you want to be that house!

Here are ten ways you can make your house pop without spending very much money:

1. Buy new house numbers and mailbox or paint the existing ones so they look new again.
2. Install new lighting for your front porch, step or doorway, or even a floodlight on the front of your house.
3. Landscaping is everything. Plants should accent your walkway and doorway, not block them from view. Trim all trees and bushes that conceal the front of your house. One way you can save money is by asking friends or family to divide their perennials so you have free plants that are already established. Another way is asking on one of the Buy Nothing neighbourhood pages if your neighbours have any plants to give away.
4. Edge the grass around your driveway and remove all weeds growing between the bricks if you have an interlocking brick driveway. It gives a professional, clean look.
5. Potted ferns and monochromatic coloured plants look best. Too many colours will look busy, which is the opposite of what you’re trying to do.
6. Buy a new front door mat to welcome potential buyers.
7. Clean your windows inside and out.
8. Hide your garbage and recycling bins around the side of your house, in the garage, or in a garbage bin. Hot weather does not make garbage cans inviting to anyone except raccoons.
9. Paint your front door a bright accent colour. Paint anything that looks tired and worn out, such as furniture, shutters, window sills, garage doors, and trim.
10. Cut and water your front yard grass so it always looks green.

A little bit of effort can make a world of difference in how your house looks from the street. The old expression “you never get a second chance to make a first impression” is as true with homes as it is with people.

Debbie Braun is a Realtor at Keller Williams

Debbie Braun, Realtor at Keller Williams