There are a number of low-cost ways to improve the appearance of your home whether you are preparing to sell your property or just spruce-up your home with some easy-to-do tricks. You don’t have to spend a lot of money making your home look spic and span.
The fact is that it becomes just a matter of time before the shine of a paint job can fade and the hardware on the front door can lose its luster. These are some ways you can improve the curb appeal of your home.
■ Replace: discard and replace the outdoor welcome mats. That should be done every couple of years.
■ Declutter: discard broken, stained, chipped or dated material that you have accumulated in your drawers. There is also that closet, the one that you put EVERYTHING into. That includes the refrigerator. Don’t forget clothing you haven’t worn, jackets, shoes, kitchen utensils, mugs, goblets, Tupperware, tablecloths, bedding, pillows, and curtains.
■ Wash the walls: especially in the hallways. You would be surprised how resilient that paint job is once you take a couple layers of dust and stuff off of them.
■ Scrub and/or paint the kitchen cabinets.
■ Scrub and/or paint the bathroom cabinets.
■ Paint where necessary. If it is cracking or chipping or it hasn’t seen a paintbrush in a decade, now’s the time. And when you paint, definitely select neutral colors. The bright airplane blue is not what you want. Use neutral colors.
■ Clean up the outside landscape surrounding your house. This year especially, New Jersey has had some record rains during the summer and so the undergrowth has overtaken parts of the yards and the flower beds. Trim back the trees and bushes as well.
■ Power wash the siding and the sidewalks.
■ Change the light bulbs or even update light fixtures where appropriate.
If you have any questions about this information or title insurance, please contact Ralph Aponte: 732.914.1400.
Counsellors Title Agency, www.counsellorstitle.net, founded in 1996, is one of New Jersey’s most respected title agencies, serving all 21 New Jersey counties with title insurance, clearing title, escrow, tidelands searches, and closing and settlement services for commercial or industrial properties, waterfront properties and marinas, condominiums, townhouses or residential single family homes. Counsellors Title also features its own Attorney Settlement Assistance Program™ [ASAP], which is an individual resource customized to fit the needs specifically of real estate attorneys, including, Documentation, Preparation, Disbursement of Funds, Attendance at Closing, HUD Preparation or Post-Closing Matters