Did you know that you can easily enhance your home’s curb appeal on a budget?

Experts say that curb appeal is one of the most important aspects in selling your house. In fact, your house will sit on the market much longer if the exterior doesn’t look nice, regardless of what the interior has to offer.

However, some people might avoid upgrading their home’s curb appeal because they’re concerned about the cost. Did you know that adding curb appeal doesn’t have to break the bank?

In this guide, we’ll give you our top ways to increase curb appeal on a budget. Keep reading to learn more!

1. Begin Online

Your curb appeal strategy actually needs to start outside of the home.

The vast majority of homebuyers will start looking online before making their decision. Your home’s online curb appeal matters just as much as its in-person appeal does.

You’ll need to have great photos of your home posted to get people looking. Make sure to carefully select the right time of day to photograph each room, so you’ll get the best lighting. Don’t shoot when there’s too much sunlight – the glow of the light will make the room hard to see.

Instead, choose an overcast day or a time closer to sunrise or sunset to get your pictures. Make sure to check out your pictures as though you were buying the home yourself. Make sure buyers can envision themselves living there. Eliminate personal touches like clutter on the porch.

2. Pretend You’re a Buyer

Now, it’s time to take pretending you’re a buyer a step further and carefully examine your home’s in-person curb appeal.

Take a pen and notepad and walk around the outside of your home, carefully looking for things that you could improve. Look for anything that needs to be cleaned, repaired, or replaced. Does anything appear visibly wrong with the home?

Next, take your car slowly past your house in each direction, during both day and night. Taking a look from the road can help you notice issues you might otherwise have missed, like a blemish on the roof or some missing siding.

3. Look Up

Speaking of the roof, you should pay extra attention to the top of your house. Buyers will notice issues with the roof that you might never think about.

Are there any missing shingles? How about dirt, debris, and streaks? You might need to spring for a roof cleaning to get things looking nice. However, there’s a lot of cleaning you can do yourself, too.

4. Check Your Numbers

Almost every home sports numbers. But are yours easy to spot, or are they dirty, dingy, or otherwise marred?

Replacing your house numbers doesn’t cost much, but it can have a huge impact on curb appeal. Make sure to take the style of your house into account when choosing the right numbers. Is it modern, traditional, or transitional? Pick the numbers deliberately so they’ll match the style or contrast in an attractive way.

5. Get a New Set of Eyes

No matter how hard you look, there are things you’re sure to miss about your own home. After all, you see it every day.

That’s why it’s valuable to get a second opinion. You might be blind to the chipped paint on your door, the cobwebs on the porch, or the cracked steps. But buyers won’t be. Get a friend or family member that doesn’t see the house often to come over and tell you what you could improve.

6. Pressure Wash

You can rent a pressure washer without spending too much. Using it on your deck, siding, driveway, and walkway can transform the appearance of your house, even if the surfaces don’t look too dirty right now.

Decks and sidings get dirty, driveways get stained with oil, walkways get dirt ground into them. There’s no replacement for a pressure washer to make things look brand-new again.

7. Add Some Green

Unless it’s the middle of a bitterly cold winter, there’s almost always a type of plant you can find that’ll be in bloom. Add plants to empty planting beds, window boxes, and porch containers to make your home look lively and well-kept.

However, avoid the temptation to plant fake flowers – they’ll have the opposite effect from the one you want.

8. Open the Windows

You might keep your blinds or shutters closed at home for good reason. But when potential buyers are coming by, make sure to open up.

The brighter your home is inside, the more appealing it will look. Having the curtains open also makes it look more attractive from the street. Take a look at your window treatments to make sure they look uniform and symmetrical from outside as well as inside.

9. Brighten Up

You should also light up your home at night by adding some solar lights along the walkway. Since these draw power from the sun, they don’t cost a lot and won’t affect your electricity bill. You can also strategically place them to highlight the best things about your yard: walking paths, landscaping, or a pretty birdbath.

10. Add Some Paint

Paint doesn’t cost much at all, and a few coats of fresh paint in the right places make a huge difference in adding curb appeal.

Re-paint your trim, shutters, and front door for an easy way to make things look fresh and new.

If you still feel more updates are needed, consider buying a new porch mat, a new mailbox, or a new light fixture. Little details go a long way.

Ready to Grow Your Curb Appeal on a Budget?

Increasing curb appeal on a budget works for any home, and it can make your home sell faster and for a higher price. Most of these little hacks don’t even take much time, and the results will pay off in a big way.

Looking for more ways to sell your home faster? Don’t miss this post.