The notion of curb appeal has two fundamental purposes. The first is to create an outdoor area for your personal, private enjoyment. The other purpose is to make some reasonable, minor changes to your front and back yard as a way to accelerate the listed (or soon-to-be listed) home’s salability. These “Yard Hacks” are a great way to do this.

Curb appeal is a factor that can be modified to dazzle potential homeowners at first glance, during the first moments that create a first impression. Never underestimate the power of a first impression in real estate, or any other matter in your life.

How Does Curb Appeal Work?

Curb appeal influences your home’s “likability” factor. Real estate experts advise that many homebuyers make lasting decisions about a home for sale, based on their first impression.

Increasing your home’s curb appeal results in an imperceptible, yet, positive influence on your home’s value; be it financial or intrinsic. When you list your home for sale, with a refreshed curb appeal it presents as a welcoming invitation. Fine-tuning your home’s outdoor spaces with a few yard hacks transforms its curb appeal with little effort.

The article that follows focuses on using back and front yard hacks to improve a home’s curb appeal, and ultimately, its value when preparing your home for sale.

Spend Smartly

With a simple glance, curb appeal reveals to potential buyers your home’s conceivable character and charm. It ignites a buyer’s interest and imagination. This is similar to hosting an open house with apple pies baking in the oven. These are defined as subliminal messages and they do influence buyer’s decisions.

Remember, you want to keep the cost of your yard hack to stay within your budget. After all, your objective is to sell the home – quickly, and the cost of the hacks will likely remain with the new owners.

Where Do I Begin?

Applying imagination and creativity or, simply a fresh coat of paint heightens curb appeal. These easy cost effective ideas that follow helps to stimulate your creative juices and have the potential to make quite a difference.

The obvious yard hacks include landscaping, a cleanup day or an afternoon of pulling weeds. And while these yard hacks are helpful, you can make an equally impactful difference by cleaning up the borders of the lawn and flowerbeds. These well-known yard hacks are not, however, the only quick fixes.

The Quick Hack

For those who want to spend little time (or money) try one of these yard hacks:

• Splash your yard with color to create an inviting curb appeal. It is noted that this option is best in warmer seasons and accomplished by planting annuals. While you are at it, lay a fresh layer of mulch to create a finished look.
• Spread some easy-to-care for hanging plants that add texture and offer a variety of heights throughout the yard. Use different plant sizes to create an appealing vision.
• Replant overgrowth from existing planters to the more barren portions of the yard. This is a cost-free way to create a more luscious green yard.

Other Affordable Yard Hacks

Focus on your front doorway.

Your front door is the central viewing point of your home’s curb appeal.

Of course, a simple coat of paint will do wonders for your home’s curb appeal. However, a homebuyer’s first look creates a lasting impression. Often it is permanent. Landscaping (good or bad) distracts homebuyers from the home’s focal point; the front door.

All walkways and paths throughout your home should have safe footing to ensure interested buyers don’t get injured. Add a few solar lights to showcase highlights like a garden or a fountain or a Koi pond. Low-voltage lighting also influences curb appeal. The sun sources solar lights so your electric bill will not change, but your curb appeal will.

It is generally a prudent idea to replace the old hardware on the front door. This includes the entry lockset, the mailbox and, of course, the house numbers. Weathered hardware dates your home, which is the last thing you should leave in place when trying to sell a property for top value. These subtle messages speak directly to buyers, without them feeling manipulated by a seller or staging professional.

Finally, your front door is the entry point for most interested buyers, so be certain to keep the door, the knobs and the metal as clean as possible. The front door and curb appeal are a direct reflection of you and the home’s interior.

The Color Factor

It doesn’t matter how much you love the colors of chartreuse or tangerine – do NOT choose to paint your house either of those colors, if you are planning on listing it for sale on a local Multiple Listing Service (MLS). The idea is to use more muted neutral tones because these color choices will appeal to the largest pool of interested buyers. Increasing the pool of buyers generally reduces the amount of time needed to sell your home.

When it comes to choosing flowers, select a mix of bright colors. Color theory suggests that red and yellow tend to be the most appealing to the eye. Additionally, neutral colors represent a clean, fresh appearance. And, lighter colors tend to fade less over time. Use these hacks to your advantage. And for those residing in PUDs, condominiums or cooperatives, it is a good idea to double check with the homeowner’s association to ensure you remain compliant with the development’s requirements. If your unit violates the project’s bylaws, the association’s board of directors has every right to ask you to undo your back and front yard changes, and to make choices that meet the association’s standards.

Symmetry is the Goal

Symmetry takes advantage of the concepts of equilibrium, balance and proportion. It is pleasing to the eye, and a breeze to complete. For example, place symmetrical sidelights on both sides of the front door. The symmetrical fixtures should, if possible, coordinate with the door’s hardware. Create a symmetrical design with hanging plants throughout the yard. Symmetrical designs prompt your subconscious in subtle ways. These subconscious notations are rarely consciously acknowledged. As a general rule, though, most of us consider symmetry to be both appealing and ascetically pleasing.

The Take-Away

Curb appeal is the perfect way to prepare your home for sale. The yard hacks noted above require small changes, however, designers would advise that beauty is found in the fine details.

While it takes time and a spot of dedication, the payoff for heightening your home’s curb appeal is worth the effort. Draw from your own inspiration because then, and only then, will the curb appeal speak to the owner’s care and concern for the property.

Smart homeowners understand that visuals are remarkably potent. And when your home is listed for sale, it becomes a sort of ‘billboard’ that advertises the home’s features and benefits. Why should you leave a buyer’s first impression to chance when there are many cost effective ways to improve your home’s curb appeal.

Before you begin to upgrade your home’s curb appeal, ask yourself -What does my home say about me? If you drove by, would you think that the residents of the home are happy? And are the curb appeal improvements too personal?

To sell your home for top dollar, make changes that are pleasant and neutral, but always inviting. Stay within the general standards of the neighborhood. This means your home should blend with the neighborhood and look like it belongs in that neighborhood.

As you can see, a home’s curb appeal can be improved with little effort and even less time. Take advantage of the little things you can do to improve your home’s value and its salability; especially when listing your home for sale.