27 September 2018
Create roadside appeal
Roadside appeal is your first, and sometimes only, shot to make a potential buyer fall in love with your house – first impressions are everything. Roadside appeal affects your home sale from the minute your real estate agent puts your listing online, if the pictures are not attractive, people are not going to call to see the listing.
Here are our top 7 tips to make the front of your property look fresh and appealing for Spring:
1. Water Blast Your House & Wash The Windows
This will remove all of the grime that’s caked onto the cladding over the winter months. The home will look fresh, clean, and photo-ready. You can either rent a water blaster and do it your self or hire a professional who will handle it all for you.
2. Give Your Front Door a Fresh Coat of Paint
No buyer wants to walk up to a faded, dirty, broken, or chipped front door—especially the front door of a home they’re thinking about buying. You can bank on buyers spending a few lingering minutes on your front step while the real estate agent gets the keys out of the lockbox. That’s why a front door refresh is a must.
You can have a little fun with the color selection. Paint it duck egg blue or baby pink - your front door can be any color you dream up. Having a whimsical front door brings attention to your home without overpowering potential buyers. When picking your sheen, a gloss finish is ideal for exterior doors. You’ll get that extra shine and it will be easy to clean.
3. Replace Front Door Hardware
If you still feel like your front door needs a little oomph after its paint job, you can purchase new front door hardware and replace it yourself. Here is a colour guide to match your front door colour with different hardware finishes.
- Light blue doors pair with bright chrome or satin chrome
- Light pink doors with gold or matte black
- Dark-blue doors pair with satin brass or satin nickel
- Light-green doors pair with matte black
- Dark-green doors pair with satin brass
- Bright-red doors pair with matte black
- Dark-red doors pair with aged bronze
- Light-gray doors pair with polished nickel
- Dark-gray doors pair with bright chrome
- Light-black doors pair with satin brass
- Dark-black doors pair with matte black
4. Replace Your Letterbox
If your letterbox is looking a bit tired or doesn’t match your new shiny exterior, head to Bunnings or Mitre10 and get a new one.
5. Make Your Front Garden Pop
If you have a garden, you should make it look fantastic. Buyers will notice dead plants and neglected paths. You want them to instead see bright flowers and a clean, well-thought-out path up to the front door.
Three tasks that will just take one afternoon of gardening will do the trick:
- Pull all weeds that have grown in cracks or next to your front pathway
- Choose grass, decomposed granite, gravel, or river rocks to line the pathway
- Plant shrubs and in-season plants with bright-colored flowers
6. Get New Exterior Lights
Rusted, old, dated, cobwebby lights, or modern, sleek, trendy lights that give off a warm glow — you choose.
Your exterior lights set the tone for the outside of your home, and they can also make a positive impact on how well your house shows in listing photos. Make sure any new lights you choose match and give off a bright, warm light. The lights should also go well with the aesthetic of your home.
7. Choose a Welcoming Doormat
A simple, friendly doormat is key to your front porch aesthetic. Buyers who see a gross, old doormat may wonder why you didn’t make the quick switch, and could be off put before they even enter your home.
Pick up a new doormat that greets buyers before they even set foot in your home You can go for a classic style or maybe choose something with a fun quirky message.
