It’s almost March and that means many things besides it being the snowiest month of the year in Denver. It is also my son’s birthday and my nephew’s birthday, St. Patrick’s Day and, oh, it’s when people in Denver start getting serious about getting their houses on the market.

So let’s talk about your curb appeal. Let’s start with the general look of your home, and how does it look if you are standing in middle of the street? How does it look next to your neighbors? This is about the ugliest month of the year in Denver, everything is matted down from the snow, muddy or dirty from the snow, the grass and shrubs are brown, there aren’t any flowers, it is dull.  Here are a few easy things to do to start tidying up.

Landscaping

It’s too early for flowers unless you planted your bulbs this past fall but clean up all the leaves from the flower bed or garden beds.  Have the lawn aerated – so that it will be green faster.  Trim the shrubs, hedges and trees. If there are broken branches clean them up.  Get the dirt off the sidewalks and the side of the house, it will get dirty again, but start deep cleaning.

Sidewalks and Driveways

Are the sidewalks and drive way flat? Do you have cracks and sunken portions? Have the stairs to the front door dropped over the past 30 years? Many times, cement can be fixed pretty easily. This can be a safety hazard and something you want to have fixed you want potential buyer to know from the moment they get out of their car, that you took care of the house.

Paint

Does the house need new paint? If your house hasn’t been painted in a five years, I’m going to guess that it probably does. Before you just slap up the old colors, maybe a new fresh tone would be a good idea.  If you don’t know, as me or ask at paint color professional. If it was paint not too long ago, go around and touch up the spots that need it.

Paint the front door, even if you did it last year, clean it and put on a fresh coat and make sure the front door handle and locks work smoothly.

Windows

Clean the windows. Again, you may need to do this more than once, but if you haven’t had your windows cleaned in over a year, believe me, it makes a world of difference! You will be amazed at the sunlight you have been missing out on.  Again, if you can’t do them yourself, let me know, I have a couple companies for you to call.

Roof and Gutters

Clean and realign gutters and drains and repair and replace roof shingles and flashing. These items will come up in an inspection.

If you want top dollar, the house needs to be tidy and the fewer the red flags a buyer has the smoother the transaction. Really, in this market you only want to go through a transaction once. Yes, it is a sellers market, but remember the house has to pass inspection and appraisal. Make it difficult for a buyer to not fall in love, just like you did, when you fist walked in.