Mohammed Nour Jaber

Area real estate agents weigh in on how to generate curb appeal

When it comes to real estate, professional insight and advice are priceless in maximizing your home’s visibility … and asking price. So to save you the trouble of asking everything, we posed the following question to four area Realtors:

How do you describe the importance of curb appeal, and what are ways to increase it?

Here’s what they said.

Curb appeal is the first impression a potential buyer has when they meet the agent at the property to view it, so it is extremely important.

Additionally, many people are looking at homes on the internet well before they enlist the services of an agent, and in many cases, they are driving to the home to look at the exterior to get a feel of the neighborhood.

As an agent, there are cases when I have driven up to a home with a client, and they tell me they do not even need to go inside the house, because they don’t like the look of the exterior.

So how do sellers prepare their home so that this doesn’t happen? First, the home’s paint and condition should be evaluated and any issues resolved. Wood rot and caulking or brick mortar issues should be repaired. If the paint is old and faded, then it may need a new coat of exterior paint. Exterior covered porches or patio areas should be cleaned of dust, wasp nests, spider webs, etc.

Landscaping plays a big role in curb appeal. Trees and shrubs should be trimmed and manicured. Flowerbeds should be weeded and mulch replenished where needed.

Pops of color with flowers adds an inviting feature to any landscape. Even if you don’t plant any flowers, buy a couple of inexpensive pots and put some colorful flowers in them.

— Tony Nuncio,
Dallas City Center Realtors

Taylor Walcik

I like to think of the home-buying and -selling process as a courtship. The curb appeal of the home is essentially the outfit you would wear on a first date. You really want to communicate who you are as a person to your potential mate.

You want to do the same thing when you list your home for sale. A typical buyer decides whether or not they want to buy a home in the first five to ten seconds. I’ve had buyers decide they didn’t even want to get out of the car as soon as we pulled up the driveway. So it is important to comb through every detail.

Painting the front door a bright and cheery color, planting colorful flowers in the front and adding splashes of color with well placed potted plants is a very cost-effective way to catch a buyer’s eye. It’s equally important that the home presents itself as clean and well kept. Wash the windows, brush the cobwebs out from eaves and make sure the yard is manicured. You only get one shot at a first impression.

— Taylor Walcik,
The Blair Group Real Estate Uptown

There are a lot of ways to improve your home’s curb appeal. Make sure the landscape is manicured and clean. Touch up the paint on the door. Consider a welcome mat. Also make sure the home itself is clean, like the windows. Clean windows are like ice and look much better from the outside. And make sure that it is well-lit.

Try to get away from doing anything that is too extreme with colors. Anytime you list a home, the more neutral the better so that you can create that emotion for a buyer of whether they like it or not.

Some mistakes people make when they think they are improving curb appeal is spending too much on landscaping or painting the door a different color. That money should go to maybe finishing the trim or cleaning.

— Mohammed Nour Jaber,
The Summit Group at Compass

Many homebuyers will make a snap decision when driving up, about the neighborhood, the home and the quality of maintenance of the home merely by viewing from their car. The easiest and cheapest way to improve it is clean it! Remove clutter or debris, make sure lawn and landscaping are tidy and neat, and when possible, plant some seasonal color to give a more welcoming appearance. More expensive but valuable projects can include repairing or replacing missing or damaged windows, screens, fencing, sidewalks or driveways. A fresh coat paint (inside or out) is always well worth the cost.

— Danny Alan Scott,
Scottwood Realty LLC