Brentwood TN Real Estate
Walk outside and take a good look at your home. Take a look at the other homes in the neighborhood. If they are all looking the same, there is a problem. Your home is not ready for showing. It lacks curb appeal. You need to get it noticed. In the current real estate market in Brentwood, Franklin and Nashville TN areas there are many homes for sale, you must give the potential buyer a reason to come to yours!
You want your house to stand out. You want people who drive by say things like, "I like that house", or "I wouldn't mind living there". You need to know what will make them say that. Look at your house again and see it's potential. Determine what would make someone say those things about your house.
The first thing is a nice yard. You may think a small yard is a draw back. It is not at all. You just need to know how to enhance it. You need to make it colorful. Add some bright, cheery flowers along the walkway. Put in a flower bed under the windows, or along side the house. Clear out any unwanted trees or shrubs. These things can make a small yard look even smaller. You want to give your home a warm and inviting look, not one of cramped space. Make sure the lawn is mowed and edged neatly. If there are bare spots, get some grass seed and re-sow it into the lawn. Trim the larger trees so there is no chance of dead branches falling. You can also tell potential buyers you just had the trees trimmed. This means they do not have to do it for quite some time.
The next thing you need to look at is uniformity. Make sure all the windows look the same from the outside. It actually makes the house look better kept. This can be done by installing vertical blinds, mini blinds, or even shades. If you do use shades, during the day make sure they are all at the same level during the time the house is on the market. You want everything to look uniform.
When you are looking at the windows, take a look at the trim work. If the windows have shutters but some are missing, either replace the missing ones or take down the existing ones. You do not want the house to appear as if it is in need of repair. Missing shutters makes it look as though no one took care of the place. The paint may be cracked and peeling. Get the scraper and a bucket of paint and redo the trim work. This will make the house look cleaner and give the impression of good repair as well.
You may have cement sidewalks or steps. If you do and there are cracks, fix them. You can do this with filler cement and a trowel. This is a big improvement not only to the look of the home but to the safety of all who come there. If the railing for the steps is missing or broken replace it. Certain Federal funding (FHA, VA loans) will not go through on a house which does not have a hand rail where there is more than two steps. Again, replacing the hand rail makes the home look more complete and adds to the safety factor. Due to the recent changes in FHA loan limits, Brentwood, Franklin and Nashville TN real estate markets will be seeing more of these types of loans for potential buyers. It will have to be corrected in order to close, so you might as well address it now.
Of course you will want to replace any broken windows or doors. This can really damage the curb appeal when a buyer drives by and sees this. Also, if there is vinyl siding that needs to be repaired or replaced, you will want to do this now; a quick pressure washing might be in order as well. Don't forget your mail box! Is it old, dented, leaning to the side? Replace it! People forget that the mail box is one of the first things a potential buyer sees. Don't forget to put your address on it in large easy to read numbers!
The key to making your house more attractive is looking through the eyes of someone else. If you can not do this, enlist the aid of your REALTOR, family and friends. They can take a look and assess what needs fixed in a hurry. Make a list and just do it. Not only are you adding more value to your home, you are attracting more buyers. When you have more buyers, you can sell your home in a lot less time.
All you need is a little curb appeal!
Call me now to see how I can help!
Vanessa Stalets
Brentwood TN Real Estate
RE/MAX Elite
615-957-6333
615-661-4400
No comments:
Post a Comment