I read somewhere that buyers mentally decide whether they like a house or not within the first 10 seconds of walking through the front door.  I do believe this is true in most cases, but I’ve witnessed buyers develop a like / dislike for a property way before they even enter the house.

Creating good curb appeal is just as important as cleaning, decluttering and painting the interior. Let’s face it, nobody wants to buy an ugly house with a yard full of weeds and not one bush, tree or any type of landscaping!  I showed a home recently that had absolutely no walkway to the front door – just a “worn” area in the grass that showed where one should be.  It also didn’t have any landscaping to speak of.  My buyers already had formed a negative feeling about the home and they didn’t even get inside yet. They also mentally started adding up how much a walkway and landscaping would cost them.  Not a good start!

Even if you have some great landscaping, your front door and entrance area might need a bit of sprucing up.  Most homes have their lockbox on the front door. Buyers spend a few minutes at every showing waiting for their agent to successfully open the lockbox, get the key out and then unlock the door. While they're standing there waiting they start looking around at the porch, the porch light and mostly, the front door. So, I highly recommend giving this small area, which you probably never really look at, a bit of a makeover. Start with cleaning off cobwebs. Take down your porch light and clean the glass and remove any dead bugs that have accumulated.  If your door is painted, give it and the trim a fresh coat of paint. I know you may be thinking, “what’s the big deal, so the porch light is dirty and outdated?” Well it is a big deal because subconsciously your potential buyer is thinking you don’t care about your home.  They start to develop a negative attitude -something you want to avoid!

If you’re trying to sell your home with a foot of snow covering your beautiful yard and perennials, try to find some photos taken in the Summer and leave them out on a table.  I had a listing which had a gorgeous inground pool with a great patio area surrounding it. I listed it after they had winterized the pool and had no idea how nice the area was until they showed me some photos they had from the previous Summer. So, we put all the photos they had in a small photo album and had it on the dining room table for buyers to see what the backyard and pool area will look like after the Spring thaw.

So go stand on your front porch, take a look around and see what you can do to make the first impression a positive one!