Focus on curb appeal for success

As we enter the spring home-selling season, remember your home’s curb appeal is the first chance to impress potential buyers. Whether buyers are wowed by a beautiful and well-maintained yard or are repelled by cracked stucco and an overgrown lawn can significantly impact your home’s sales price if you’re thinking of selling it this spring.

When buyers pull up to a house, they want to be able to picture themselves living in and coming home to it. Dead weeds and chipped paint canmake that all the more difficult to visualize. Making sure your home is prepared— both inside and out— before you put it on themarket could help it sell faster and for top dollar.

Here are a few tips to make sure your curb appeal is making the best impression on potential buyers:

Clean your house. It’s not only the inside of your home that needs to be kept clean of dirt and grime, the outside of your home should be just as spotless. Check your outer walls for chips or cracks, brush away any debris or cobwebs, and clean windows both inside and out. Simply freshening up your house can substantially raise the sale price.

A new coat of paint. After you’ve cleaned your home’s exterior, the next step is to apply a fresh coat of paint on window frames and door jambs. A new coat of paint is like a face-lift for your home but don’t try to make a statement with your home’s color. If your home is a wildly different color from the other homes in your neighborhood, it could negatively affect a buyer’s perception of the home’s value. And if your home is in a historic district or neighborhood with covenants, there may be rules that limit color options.

A well-manicured yard. Your front yard creates your home’s first impression to prospective buyers, so make sure that your lawn is maintained and your shrubs and flowerbeds arewell tended. It is important to keep your yard neat, raking any fallen leaves and pulling any weeds. If there is a barren tree in your front yard, cut it down and consider replacing it with native landscaping. Water use is an important consideration here in Santa Fe, so using native or low-water-use landscaping can be a welcomed feature.

Repair the stucco. If your stucco is damaged, it can have a negative impact on the value of your home. If your neighbors’ stucco is well maintained or has been recently updated, it will make yours look especially ragged. However, that isn’t a project youmay want to take on yourself without the proper equipment; hire a professional with the right tools and training to complete the repairs.

Check your roof. Locate and repair any leaks as well as removing fallen debris. Sometimes a good cleaning is all you need to have your roof look like new.

By making a few simple changes to your home’s exterior, you can increase its value and hopefully help it sell more quickly this spring.

Paco Arguello is chief executive of the Santa Fe Association of Realtors. Contact him at 982-8385 or paco@sfar.com.