Selling up your old home comes with a never-ending checklist and, often, good old-fashioned emotional upheaval too. You might be excited about moving on, in which case putting the steps in place to improve your home’s kerb appeal, such as re-painting your door and weeding the garden, is a walk in the park.
But for many, it can be a stressful time. A smattering of nostalgia and a healthy dose of financial strain. The last thing you want to be doing is improving your home’s kerb appeal for potential buyers while you’re stressing about solicitor’s meetings and mortgage brokers.
A necessary evil
Freshening up your house is a necessary evil, however, and will speed up the process. So, to get the extra nudge of motivation to get your property sold, it can help to simply *pretend*. Fake it til you make it. Slap on a happy face and make believe that you’re amped to be doing this.
Pretend you’re on a real estate makeover show. There’s a patronising presenter who’s thinking of their paycheck and a couple of distracted producers who are worried about how many man-hours this is going to take.
Pretend you’re a buyer
Our first bit of ‘fake it’ advice is to role-play. Calm down, Neville, we’re not talking Dungeons and Dragons. And you can absolutely put that PVC mask away Jeanette. We’re talking about getting into character as a savvy, if somewhat fussy, potential buyer. Observe your own home from their sceptical perspective.
Start from the street. Saunter your way towards your front door. Would this critical new you enjoy the fake flowers in bin bag lined buckets outside the front window? Or would they pull a face and begin compiling a spreadsheet of judgements from there on in?
These little changes can be the difference between a ‘take all my money I must have this ground floor flat’ and a ‘hmm, where’s next on the viewings list.’
Imagine you’re in Narnia
…and your front door is a magical portal into an exciting new world. Tuck into some Turkish delight for extra energy. Start polishing those hinges, wiping off stubborn marks and cleaning up any glass panelling. If it’s going to take more than a quick wipe down, you might need to get the sanders and paint tins out to really makeover your portal.
If allowed with your building, a lick of fresh paint and even a new letterbox or knocker will work wonders to improve your home’s kerb appeal. Grab yourself an inexpensive doormat. You’re ready to go! Maybe not into a magical world of talking lions and frosty witches, but some parts of Parkland Walk are pretty mystical.
Act like you own the place
The whole place, that is. If you own a flat within a shared building, it’s critical to make sure that all areas are clean, uncluttered and presentable. Heck, even welcoming. While some properties come with regular cleaner visits, this doesn’t guarantee the hallway and front porch areas are going to be gleaming. That’s where you come in. Pop your marigolds on, mop that muddy floor, sweep up those leaves, rethink those spider webs and prepare the junk mail for recycling.
Recycle and weed!
That Pizza City leaflet pile has been accumulating for months and the spiders have lived here so long they’ve downloaded Deliveroo anyway. Be sure to give walkways, driveways and front garden areas a good seeing to, with a hearty weeding session and fence touch up. Time to get all Cinderella about it and whistle while you work. Wait, wrong misogyny tale…
Believe in the power of Alan Titchmarsh
Ever watched Groundforce and wished you were Charlie Dimmock, kneading through soil and waxing lyrical to the camera about the importance of a well-placed perennial? Well now’s your chance, ‘90s darlings! For those aged 25 and under (how have you afforded a house / well done), imagine you’re a florist on The Big Flower Fight competing for the judges attention to create the world’s most appealing garden, like, ever. You get the picture.
Flower power!
Place plenty of foliage and colourful blooms across your doorstep in pots and tubs and hanging baskets for extra welcoming points. Keep those stray leaves swept. Empty spaces = unfriendly, dying plants = scary. If you have a back garden, shared or otherwise, keeping it maintained sends out the message that you care about the property and have enjoyed living here so they will too. SO BUY IT FOR GOD’S SAKE. Maybe don’t say that.
Lights, camera, action!
For your final act, darling, vaseline your teeth and smear on the grease paint. It’s time to shine a spotlight on your money maker. It’s all about the facade after all. To get your home starring in its leading role, think about adding some glitz and glamour with exterior lighting. Frame your front door with wall lights. Pop some solar-powered lamps around the front porch and/or garden areas.
To take extra advantage of the sun, be sure to get those windows squeaky clean for another great first impression. Let that natural light really do its thing through unfiltered panes once inside. Room for one last fake it til you make it tip? Pretend you don’t own rubbish and have no need for a wheelie bin. Simply shove it round the corner out of sight et voila!
Roll on the offers!
Your transformation is complete! When you improve your home’s kerb appeal, it will add plenty of value to your listing, and it will keep potential buyers’ attention from the word go. (Don’t forget to tick off the list before your listing photos are taken or you’ll lose prospective clicks before we’ve even started.)
Please note that all content contained within our website is for informational purposes only. You should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. All Content on this site is information of a general nature and does not address the circumstances of any particular individual or entity. We advise seeking professional advice from a legal, financial, or other professional.
Contact us:
alex@daviesdavies.co.uk – Lettings Director (contact for lettings and property management)
mark@daviesdavies.co.uk – Sales Director (contact for sales, new homes and chartered surveying)
020 3820 2492
Davies & Davies Estate Agents, 85 Stroud Green Road, London, N4 3EG
Article & images by Barefaced Studios
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