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Health & Fitness

Tune-Up Your Front Door for A Faster Home Sale

This is probably the best cosmetic upgrade you can make (on a limited budget) before you list your home for sale. Your front door makes a big impression on home buyers, both good and bad.

If you're thinking about selling your Parkland area home this year one of the first things almost any Realtor will tell you is how valuable curb appeal is when it comes to marketing your home. Curb appeal can mean a lot of things, of course, ranging from wholesale replacement of the roof, paint, and landscaping, to a few tidy details designed to spruce up the place.

One of the best (and most cost-effective) tune-ups you can make works both from the curb and from up close. It’s a little something I call the “Front Door Tune-up.”  Many of us enter our home from the garage or a side door and don't really see what buyers will see when they come to view our home.  Take a walk up to your front door and have a look at what will be a homebuyers first impression. 

The front door is a focal point on your home, both from a distance and up close.
Here’s how to leverage it for maximum impact:

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1) Paint the door with an appropriate, fresh, contrasting color. Not only will
this draw the eye (possibly even away from the crack in the driveway!), but it
will go a long way to creating the impression of a new paint job.

2) Replace faded, small address numbers with classy, visibly new hardware. Long gone are the days of tacky decals. Even a modest investment at an upscale home accessories store can add a touch of luxury to your entryway.

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3) Replace knob/handle and lock hardware. The feel of the doorknob, the click of the hardware, and the sense of security the door conveys matters hugely. It’s a front-line sensory experience for potential buyers. A sticky, weak, degraded
set of locks only hurts your first impression.

4) Upgrade the door, if possible. Sometimes paint and hardware won’t do the trick. If you have an older home in a subdivision where many of the same styles of door were used, this could be a good time to differentiate your home while upgrading the aesthetic.

Will a door save your home from significant cosmetic problems? No. But I’ve seen it work again and again: The “Front Door Tune-up” is a subtle but effective listing tool.

I have lots of resources on curb appeal! Contact me for more at 484-893-1234 or email joe@debandjoe.com.  It's never too early to start preparing your home for the market!

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