Is your home on the market or are you getting ready to put it on the market?  Don’t forget the exterior spring cleaning. We are entering that ugly time of year here in Minnesota.  Everything has been frozen and snow covered for months and now your yard and home exterior is slowly starting to reappear.  Most likely you have been working on getting the interior of your home all spiffed up but don’t neglect the exterior.  Make sure you cover the following points to ensure a good first impression for potential buyers this the spring!

• A simple clean and fresh “welcome” mat at the front door is inviting to the buyers
• Speaking of the front door, make sure your door looks good, freshly painted, no cobwebs on the porch, clean windows
• If your siding is looking dingy, take a power washer to the exterior as soon as the weather is warm enough
• Wash all that salt and sand off your driveway and lawn edges
• If you have gutters, make sure they are cleaned out
• Tidy up your landscaping so it is ready to start growing again
• Sweep out your garage and get it organized, even though it is the garage, it is a part of the house that needs to be neat and tidy, not a dirty overflowing storage closet
• If you have a dog, rid your lawn of the landmines that may have collected over the winter

These items are basic, simple and mostly free but will make a big difference to a buyer in making a great first impression!

With the nice weather lots of us are thinking about sprucing up the house which includes painting.  As for the paint trends for 2012, the Paint Quality Institute the say “Native plants and flowers, oceans and lakes, and rocks and minerals are the sources of inspiration for the paint colors that will be ‘in’ next year.”  “If you’re thinking about repainting your home interior, look to the great American outdoors.”  Whatever you do, don’t just paint your walls white! (more…)