Do you remember what it was that first grabbed your attention when you first bought your home? Was it the entrance way? Was it the way the front walk curved up to a friendly looking front door? Was it the rest of the neighborhood? Chances are, it was a combination of these. The general happiness you feel when you look at your home from the outside and the balance it holds with the rest of the neighborhood is what real estate professionals call ‘curb appeal’. Now that you’re ready to sell your home, the question to ask yourself is, “Does your home have curb appeal?”

First, take a look at your house from the farthest vantage point – perhaps from across the street. Take in the front entrance, the driveway, and the yard. Is it appealing to you? Do you think it’s enough to make prospective buyers slow down in their cars to get a good look? If not, here are a few things you can do to spruce your home up to give it a little more curb appeal.

For starters, make sure your lawn is in good shape – green and mowed with nice, clean edges along any sidewalks or paths. If needed, plant some bushes and keep them well hedged. Trim back any unruly tree branches that block the view of the house and/or prevent sunlight from coming through. An easy way to bring color to the front of your house quickly is by planting some bright annuals such as geraniums in pots or in window boxes. Or if you’re planning ahead, plant some bulbs for year-after-year color. Power wash the outside of the house if it’s looking dingy or repaint it. A great way to draw attention to your home is by having a nice front door. If you don’t want to go through the hassle of replacing it, you can always apply a fresh coat of paint. Make your home inviting by sprucing up the front walk. Is your front walk as boring as city sidewalk? Spruce it up with plants along the edge or replace the plain slabs of concrete with a pattern of stone tablets.

So why do all of this work? Some benefits of having curb appeal are raising the value of your home and selling your home faster, often at or above your asking price. Keeping the outside of your home in good condition also makes the entire neighborhood look nicer. And while many of us are taught not to ‘judge a book by its cover,’ selling your home is one case where we throw this rule of thumb out. Many buyers will use what they see outside to indicate what they’ll find INSIDE the house. Chances are if your home is well maintained on the outside, it will be the same on the inside, enticing buyers to take a closer look at your home.