Curb appeal is more than the color of your shutters and the architectural features of your home. For a relatively small cash investment, you can spruce up the curb appeal of your home, whether you are staying or selling.
I work regularly with landscapers who will plan within a client's budget to spruce up the garden and general appeal of a property. For the outside of your home, remember this analogy.
Decluttering is to the inside what weeding and trimming is to your home's exterior.
Weed, trim, rake, edge, mulch (but not too much!), then fill in with some plants. Perennials which will add to the beauty of the yard for years to come are the best, even if you plan to sell. Your future homebuyers will appreciate your efforts. And even quick fill-ins with seasonal annuals: think pansies and tulips in spring, petunias and geraniums in the summer, mums in the fall, and holly and greenery with berries in the winter.
If I am customizing the house preparation checklist for a seller client, landscaping is always part of the input.
There are grassy flat backyards, postage stamp sized neat tidy urban garden backyards, narrow corner lot backyards, picket fence with a gate to your neighbors' backyards, private fenced oasis backyards, and expansive impressive backyards. Any that accommodates a hammock between two old trees is ideal to me. What is the best feature of your backyard or other outdoor space?
My newest listing is a contemporary house located just one mile from the Wheaton Metro Station on the Red Line and all the shopping near there. It is also around the corner from Wheaton-Claridge Park and just a short drive from Wheaton Regional Park. My prep team and I have been working hard to bring this home to market today, so I wanted to share the 5 Things I Love most about it.
1. The impressive brick fireplace, which is a dominant architectural feature of the property. In researching the history of the house and its Hammond Hill neighborhood, I discovered that the brick was reclaimed from older homes in Alexandria, Virginia, during construction.
2. The original wood cabinets. There is something comforting and warm about their patina, and they just go with the house.
3. The yard, with its size (9,176 sq ft), its privacy, and its peacefulness. While prepping this property for sale, I discovered a Star Magnolia tree, Forsythia, Eastern Red Bud, Hemlocks, Pines, and Cedars.
4. The vaulted ceilings. Design in 1950 by architect Charles M. Goodman, famous for his design of the original National Airport terminal in Washington, DC, along with many other residential developments, every room in this cool mid-century modern home features angles and volume.
5. The windows, walls and walls of windows. This home is flooded with natural light and one feels connected to nature from the inside. It is a cheerful house.
I hope whoever buys it loves this home as much as I do. I am holding public open houses on Saturday, April 26, 2014, 2:00-4:00 p.m. and Sunday, April 27, 2014, 1:00-4:00 p.m. Please come to tour this home in person and learn more about its history and potential.
As I type, the view out my window is different from this picture. Now the autumn shades are decidedly rust, orange, brown. Two weeks ago, the golden yellow was radiant. This photo does not begin to capture the beauty outside my window on that day.
For some, living in the woods may bring daily reminders of the seasons, the natural world including the birds and chipmunks which live there too, and a sense of calm. That was me today, starting my early morning with gratitude for trees.
Others may crave wide open vistas and the sun shining through year round, not to mention a lack of branches to pick up after a storm and spare time in the fall while others are raking.
Everyone seeks a different combination of factors in a home, and the outside of a home is part of that equation. Gardening, a place for children and/or pets to play, outdoor dining, bird watching, and broader views may be important to home buyers. What is on your wish list as you look outside today?
Gardening ... in the winter, you might ask? It is cold here in Maryland right now, although we don't have snow on the ground like Wisconsin and other places north. I was just sitting here at my desk in my home office, tidying up a bit, organizing brochures from homes I've seen into my new expandable file folders (the binders requiring three hole punches were a deterrent to filing), planning for more showings and previews, planning another Real Estate and Refreshments event at the end of January, and dreaming of warmer days weeding in my yard. Dreaming of weeding?? Strange but true.
My family members and I, with varying degrees of enthusiasm and time allocation, spent many hours weeding and pruning last winter. Here in the DC Metro area, we had a very mild winter last year so it was pleasant enough to be outside working in the garden.
We have a different type of yard, not one with sweeping expanses of finely trimmed, lush, green lawn and beds of sun-loving perennials. No, we live in the forest, in a wonderful neighborhood of Bethesda called Woodhaven. True to its name, it is a haven, with lots of trees. We also live on a hill so there are terraces nicely landscaped by previous owners. It took some adjustments and now our girls enjoy the great hide-and-seek spots, the Harry Potter classrooms and Great Hall they've imagined, the tree bark forts for Lego people.
And I love the progress I've seen by removing extensive beds of invasive, non-native ivy, trimming back overgrown bushes, pulling down weeds that had climbed up all our massive tree trunks. I look forward to doing more this winter and early spring.
In my tidying indoors, I just found an article from the Local Living section of the Washington Post by gardening columnist Adrian Higgins from last July titled "Member of the wedding party." My favorite quote from the article is:
Look out for poison ivy, get your tetanus booster shot, and recognize that it may take three years to create the garden you want.
I have two more winters/springs to go. Can't wait.
"Mom, I think the marigolds sacrificed themselves for the herbs," volunteered my younger daughter, Julia, as we reviewed our recently planted herb patch. We had added 18 marigolds to provide a natural pest repellent to the only sunny corner of our yard capable of supporting herbs. The marigolds are decimated, eaten to the stems; the basil, rosemary, cilantro and thyme are thriving.
Her observation got me thinking about home maintenance (oddly). We plant marigolds to distract pests from the tasty herbs. So, too, does our hot water heater contain a sacrificial anode rod of magnesium or aluminum so the rust particles attack it before the sides of the tank. The rod will fail before the tank does, thus saving us a flooded basement. Of course we have to inspect the tank and rod occasionally to make sure we replace the appliance before we experience that bigger flooding issue.
Even long-time homeowners can become remiss about completing basic preventive home maintenance tasks. These chores are boring yet typically inexpensive ways to preserve the quality and functioning of your home systems and features. Let's face it - it is not fun to change the air filter in our air-conditioning or furnace air handler and it is easy to forget. Out of sight, out of mind. The disposable filters range from $10 to $20 and though you should change them monthly, at least once a season try to switch them out. Buy in bulk so you have them on hand instead of buying them individually when you need them. I find the box of them in the utility room is a great reminder.
Bigger problems could stem from an old or wind-damaged roof. In addition to the roof shingles themselves, even more critical to water deflection is the flashing at joints, changes in angles, edges, etc. If you are not comfortable or capable on a ladder, it is not expensive to find a roofer or gutter expert to provide you with a brief visual inspection of the roof and flashing to determine if they need repair. Better a couple hundred dollars on roof or flashing repair than thousands fixing water-damaged drywall, insulation and flooring. Note in the photo: that extra edge of material just under the shingles as seen on my roof is the flashing, wrapping protectively around the wood trim.
As a real estate agent, I believe in helping people with real estate decisions whether they are buying, selling or staying, because maintaining your home while it is yours is just as important as the condition of a house during a sale.
