9 Ways to Add Curb Appeal to Your San Diego Home Before Putting it Up For Sale

If you are planning to sell your San Diego home soon, you’ll want to do everything possible to attract interested buyers. One thing that you’ll hear San Diego real estate agents talk a lot about is curb appeal. Curb appeal is the first impression that buyers get when they arrive at your home, so it has to be great. Here are some awesome ways to add curb appeal to your San Diego home before putting it up for sale.

1. Add Shutters

Shutters make the facade of your home really pop, and they are fairly easy to add to your home. Naturally, they don’t need to be working shutters. There are lots of different shutter styles to choose from. You should opt for a style that complements the age and architectural style of the home. Next, you’ll need to decide on a material, such as wood, plastic or vinyl. Finally, the color should contrast but complement the exterior color of your San Diego home.

2. Paint or Refinish the Front Door

Your front door gets a lot of wear and tear, in addition to a lot of exposure to UV light. All this can make your front door look worn. Depending on what kind of front door you have, consider painting it or refinishing it. For a stylistic statement, you could paint the door to match your new shutters. For the finishing touch, add shiny new door fixtures like a bold handle, and a fashionable door knocker.

3. Add an Arched Trellis

To make visiting buyers feel like they’re really walking onto a special property when they visit your San Diego home, consider adding an arched trellis to the beginning of your front walkway. You don’t even need to have a fenced front yard to make this work. Simply add matching garden elements on either side of the trellis, such as two large potted plants. To fill out the trellis, weave faux flowering vines through the slats.

4. Add Flower Baskets to Front Facing Windows

Flower baskets are an easy addition to your home and make great curb appeal. You don’t need any special equipment, and you can install them yourself. For a fee, a local nursery will even plant your selected flower baskets with flowering annuals before you bring them home. If you feel the style of your home suits the look of flower baskets, you can’t go wrong with this small detail.

5. Refinish the Mailbox

Mailboxes are often neglected when sellers start thinking about curb appeal. Refinishing the mailbox can be done in just a couple hours, and the difference it makes is worth every minute. Don’t try painting your mailbox in the hot San Diego sun, though. The paint will get tacky and unmanageable. Instead, make things easy for yourself by detaching the actual box from the post or wall it’s attached to. A screwdriver should be all you need. Then paint the mailbox in the shade with one or two coats, and allow to dry before reinstalling. You can even add embellishments if you want to get creative, such as a decorative scene or a bold stripe.

6. Replace House Numbers

Your house numbers were probably on the house when you bought it, and you probably haven’t given much thought to them since. Now is a good time to replace them with something stylish and easily readable from the street. You can find an assortment of styles at your local hardware store or online.

7. Add Landscape Lighting

You might think that landscape lighting won’t matter since buyers view your home during the day. But interested home buyers frequently drive by houses at night to get a better feel for what the neighborhood is like. Impress them with beautiful landscape lighting that they didn’t expect to see. Use the lighting in an attractive, understated way rather than in a glaring, obvious way that’s intended to dissuade intruders. Shine soft light upward from the base of trees and shrubbery to enhance your yard’s mature greenery. Add a subtle light at the entrance to your home to show off your newly refinished front door.

8. Renew or Replace Your Garage Door

The garage door can take up to 50% of the façade of your home. If the front of your house is beautiful but the garage door is old and worn, all your other curb appeal efforts will be for naught. Be sure your garage door looks its best. Either refinish it, powerwash it, or replace it. Thoroughly clean and polish garage door windows, and replace hardware. Take care of any dents if you do choose not to replace the door.

9. Replace Front Porch Light Fixture

If your front porch light fixture is dated, go ahead and replace it. You can get a nice new one at a lighting store or hardware store. This simple replacement will make a big impression, yet you can take care of it in one short afternoon.

Once you complete all these curb appeal details, your home will look extremely enticing to visiting homebuyers. The best thing is, none of these are difficult or expensive to take care of, yet they will make a big impact on your home’s curb appeal.

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