You’re probably familiar with the term “home staging”. It
involves cleaning, de-cluttering, reorganizing, and decorating
specifically in order to make your home more attractive to
potential buyers. Furniture stores do something similar when
they “stage” a bedroom suite in a showroom.
Most sellers focus their staging efforts on the inside of their
homes. But the outside is important too. After all, a property’s
exterior is the first thing potential buyers see. So you want to
make sure that the first impression is a good one.
Here are some ideas on how to make sure that happens.
When preparing your home for sale, imagine you’re a potential
buyer and take a walk around the outside of your property. Do
you like what you see? Are there issues that concern you? Try to
be as objective as possible.
You may notice, for example, that the deck is faded and worn,
some of the border stones around the flower bed are chipped or
missing, or the fence gate squeaks.
If you notice these things, so will potential buyers. So consider
getting these minor problems repaired.
As you inspect your yard, pay particular attention to sheds and
other areas around your property where rakes, shovels,
garbage bins, bikes, toys and other items tend to accumulate.
Just as you would unclutter the inside of your home before a
showing, so too you should make sure the exterior areas of
your property are as uncluttered as possible.
Then explore simple ways you can make the exterior of your
property look even more attractive. For example, giving your
hedges, shrubs and other evergreen plants a trimming, can
dramatically improve the look of your yard. Planting flowers or
placing flower pots at key locations, such as near the front
entrance can also have a big impact.