Springtime is typically the time when most home sales start to see an uptick, but there are still properties that hit the market during the coldest months of the year. Just because there is snow and leaves on the ground doesn’t mean that curb appeal isn’t as important, it is just as vital in those months as it is during the summer. Here is some advice on how to tackle curb appeal during the winter months.
If you live in an area that is frequently too heavy snow and you’ve scheduled an open house or showing, you’ll want to make sure potential buyers can pull up and get into the home. Snow shoveling and plowing create the idea that the owner cares about their house. This makes the buyer think, ‘Maybe I should care about this house.’
Before showing your home in winter, make sure buyers have easy access to your property. Take a trip to a hardware store to pick up a snow shovel or rent a snowblower and put down a little rock salt or ice melt on the driveway and walkways to keep visitors from slipping. If this is too much for you then you can also hire a snow removal service to assist.
You can add some color to your front door with a non-seasonal wreath of grapevines, leaves, or floral accents for less than $50. You can also cover the area in front of your door with a simple mat made from straw or recycled materials, which will run about $30 to $40.
Creating virtual curb appeal
You can’t negotiate with a buyer if you can’t get them to the house, and if you don’t present the property online in a way that will compel someone to want to hop in their car and see it firsthand, there won’t be a sale.
A professional photographer is the icing on the curb appeal cake. As an example, if you have a protruding garage, you’ll want it to be in the background — you don’t want a house to look like it’s all garage in photos. A pro will know the best angles and lighting to use when shooting your home to drive traffic virtually and physically to it.
About Danielle Verboski
