These Property Improvements Are Time-Proven to Increase Kerb Appeal

When it comes to marketing your property, there’s nothing quite like a first impression. We tend to judge things by their façade, relying on the outer appearance of a home or business to relate its very value. A dishevelled, run-down appearance can be enough to permanently write off a property, though the converse also holds true; love at first sight doesn’t just apply to people. Increasing your home’s kerb appeal will certainly get you an easy approval is you want to apply for the best mortgage deals.  So what can you do to improve your home or business’ chances of pleasing the eye of the beholder?

1. First impressions really, really matter

Is the exterior of your home drab and sullen? Spruce it up with a complete new look by repairing, replacing, or completely refinishing your walls. Examples of in-style exteriors include New England-style timber boarding, hung tiles and brick slips, or paint colours in keeping with the period of the house, and of those on either side. For something like self-coloured render, budget £30-£40 per m². Now, for your roof: if it’s simply dingy, a cheap way to liven it up again is to rent a pressure washer and clean it off. Sometimes, however, a roof will need a complete overhaul, maybe going from sun-faded, plain concrete roof tiles to sharp, and interlocking concrete roof tiles. On average, changing a roofs’ covering completely will cost from £40-£80 per m².

2. Spruce up a space with greenery

Sarah Beeny, with the Property Ladder, had this to say to The Telegraph about planting a garden: “You don’t need a big garden to plant a creeper, and houses look beautiful with plants trailing up them. And you can easily make window boxes yourself. Just paint a plastic planter and plant it with some draping ivy.” Lovely pops of color and inspiring settings sell a space to peoples’ hearts. Beeny and her husband, for example, knew they had fallen in love with their home even before they had made it to the front door, “We were halfway across the garden and were already saying to each other, ‘how do we make this house fit our family?’ It was May, and there were forget-me-nots everywhere. It was such an unusual plot to find in London,” she recalled.

3. Keep up with general maintenance

Ensure your porch and garden are clean and personal items are mostly packed away. Thoroughly clean your windows and gutters– when dirty, these can contribute hugely to an overall negative appearance. If you have a lawn, mow it regularly, and keep any trees and bushes properly pruned. Edge and weed all your paths and paved areas. Renting a pressure washer may be useful here as well, for cleaning your siding, deck, pavements, etc. Doing many small things daily will keep you from needing large repairs or revamps later on.

When it comes to upping your property’s kerb appeal, simply remember “the three R’s”: replace, repaint, or remove. It doesn’t need to be hard to create a beautiful front, and it need not break the bank, making it most definitely worth doing.