Curb Appeal Rules

Make that initial glimpse memorable.

For a fresh perspective on the value of your home, walk across the street, turn around and take a good look. Ask yourself, "Does my house have curb appeal?"  Does your home look attractive, welcoming and well maintained at first glance?  What could you do to make it look better?

Make a list of ways to enhance the positive and eliminate the negative. If you have a nice walkway, accentuate it with flowers or lanterns. If the first thing a visitor sees is your big wide garage, try to guide their eyes into beautiful front yard landscaping, or paint your front door red to guide the eye there. Nothing adds value more than those things that make people say "looking good".

Take a digital photo of your home and look at it in black and white. When the color is removed, the truth comes out. That is where you see the cracks, the warts and the glaring flaws.

Always keep things clean and tidy. And talk to your neighbours because curb appeal doesn’t stop at your property line. Your home will be more valuable if you live in a place where everyone pays attention to appearance.

Host a neighborhood cleanup party. Compete with neighbours to see who can do the best job of making their home look better.  By adding curb appeal to your home and your neighbours homes, you can boost property values all over the neighbourhood.