Six Words That Will Help Sell Your Home, Curb Appeal, Curb Appeal, Curb Appeal.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, when it comes to selling your home it could cost you tens of thousands of dollars. The National Association of Realtors reports in the "2007 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers" that 80% of home buyers are searching online for homes. This means the picture of your home showing weeds, rusted railing, paint chipping, and a dented mail box to name a few is being seen by 80% of the home buyers. What about the other 20% you ask? The majority of those buyers are driving by your home and not stopping to even look because of the 10 others that are for sale in the neighborhood.

Curb appeal, curb appeal, curb appeal are six important words you need to memorize when selling your home. Most of the buyers I have worked with and met have a mental pictures of the perfect home that fits their wants and needs. The first impression a buyer gets of a home is when they pull up to the home in their car or see the picture of the front of a home online. This is why it is of the utmost importance that the front of your home be in tip top condition. When showing buyers homes, I have pulled into the driveway of a listed home to only have the buyers tell me to just go to the next home. This happens because the picture online was hard to see the lack of care or there was no picture at all.

There are many simple projects that can be taken on to help make the front of a home inviting to most prospective buyers. These projects include cleaning out flower beds, mulching, fresh paint, lighting, new trees, shrubs, and many other things. Those of you who watch those home improvement shows here are some good projects on DIY.com and HGtv.com that can get you started. Many of the jobs that will get your front yard in top shape cost little and need only sweet equity to get them accomplished.

In one of my previous articles "Return on Remodeling" I discussed the best cost vs. value remodeling projects based on remodeling magazines annual report. This report shows that siding and window replacement have the best return when a home sells. This has been the case year after year and confirms the concept of an aesthetically pleasing home on the exterior. I do want to mention that curb appeal is not the only thing that sells a home but I would put it in the top three. I recommend to consult a knowledgeable real estate agent to guide you through the selling process and they should be able to give advice and tips to gain curb appeal.


I do want to mention that the "2009 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers" also reported that the most useful tool in home searching was multiple pictures. I mention this so that you can make sure your agent has multiple pictures posted online with all advertising.

Don't forget when you go to sell your home curb appeal, curb appeal, curb appeal. This can make the difference between selling and not selling.