by Liam Hogan 
Preparing the exterior of your home for sale is just as important as the preparation of the interior of your home. After all, the purchasers get their first impressions when they see the outside of your home. Even if the inside of your house is amazing, no one wants to live in a house that looks shabby on the outside.
1) Create a pathway!
You should have a clear path from the start of your front garden to your front door. This path should be the centre piece of your garden, everything should be designed around the path to your door.
It is not essential for this path to be made of stone brick and have railings, as long as the path stands out and is mildly decorated around it.
Research has shown that grey/dark stone works best in your front garden as it goes well with any colour.
2) Power-washer!
Not much needs to be said here, power wash everything. Clean the boundary walls, front walls and patio. We want the front of your house to pop and nothing gives your house that new feeling like a power washer does.
3) Greenery makes the scenery!
Possibly one of the ways, with the most impact, to bring the exterior of your property to life is the addition of greenery. From flower beds to a well maintained lawn to hanging flower baskets- these are not expensive additions to your garden, but they really make a difference to the appearance of the exterior of your home!
Use the plants to make key visual aspects of your property more prominent, outlining windows and doors. You don’t need the fanciest planters but by using bright flowers that compliment the colour of the house, you can really bring your house to life.
If you have a white house with a dark blue door, maybe use some light blue or pink flowers, while if you have red brick house with a dark colour door, maybe use some extra greenery and some white flowers.
Brightening up your front garden not only boosts your curb appeal but could lead to a boost in the value of the property.
4) Lawn and Hedges – appearance is everything!
If your front garden consists of a lawn (or lawns), hedges or garden ornaments, it would be in your best interest to cutback the hedges as far as you can, cut the grass and remove all garden furniture and ornaments.
You want to make your front garden look as big as possible; the only additions to the garden should be plants, flowers or other greenery (and that must be limited to make sure the garden size is optimised).
5) Make the most of your front door!
The front door of a house is the gateway to a home. Think about it, what is the first thing you look for when you look at a house? It’s almost always the front door. MAKE IT POP!
Make your door noticeable, make it the first thing people see.
The colour of the door should contrast to the colour of the surrounding walls. It would be a good idea to make the flowers around the house and garden match the colour of the door.
Enhancing the appearance of the front door is probably the easiest DIY job regarding boosting the appearance of the house exterior. All it takes is paint or cleaning products; it is probably the most cost effective way to boost your kerb appeal!
6) How do your letterbox and house number shape up?
The appearance of the letterbox and house number plaque speaks volumes about the house. If your letterbox is separate to your door, ask yourself, could it look better? Does it add to the value of the house or detract from it?
What about your house number plaque? Can it be seen from outside the garden? Does the plaque fit in with the façade of the house? Does it need to contrast more with the colour of the door or wall that it is mounted on?
We don’t want to tell you to replace your letterbox and house number plaques, but you would know better than anyone so if they need to be replaced, then you should replace them.
Wherever your letterbox is – inserted in your front door or mounted separately on a wall – please paint or polish it if required.
Plan to spend between €50 – €200 (depending on the condition of the existing plaque and mailbox).
7) Clean the gutters!
We don’t think there is much needed to be said here. It is one of the most obvious ways of improving the exterior of your home… CLEAN YOUR GUTTERS! No matter how nice or big your property is, if you have plants sticking out of your gutters, it is amazing how much it can make your property look rundown and old.
From moss on slated roofs, to ivy on walls, to plants in the gutters – remove them all. We want the property to look brand new again!
8) Keep electric fittings out of sight.
The only electrical fittings that should be in sight are lights. Electricity boxes, gas meters, outdoor sockets and any other electrical fitting should be kept out of sight.
We have found the most effective way of keeping fittings out of sight is by painting them the same colour as their background. If there is a socket up against a hedge paint it a dark green.
We are trying to aim for the garden to be as open and big as possible while filled with bright colour with complimenting colours. Things like electrical fittings are best hidden as they really don’t make any property look good.
9) Outdoor furniture.
It is complicated when talking about outdoor furniture as too much of it can clutter up the garden but too little of it can make it look too plain. Every property is different and only you, the owner, will know what really works for your property.
Find the balance as it could add a possible €10,000 to your property. Only remove garden furniture if you feel like it’s too much. We would advise you to always leave a bench at least or some form of seat that goes with the orientation of the garden.
By no means do you need to follow every step here, these are all just individual pointers on what could add value to your home in the event that you decide to sell it. The exterior of the property is regularly something that is overlooked. Many people focus on staging the house thinking this will bring extra value but if buyers don’t like the look of the outside of the property, they are already going into the property with a bad impression.
Hopefully you have found these steps helpful and will be an aid to your property conveyance!
