Curb appeal greatly effects the value of every property, but it is particularly important to residential sites.  Curb appeal is defined from the outside-from the street or curb.  Favorable curb appeal depends on many factors that make the property as a whole inviting to residents and visitors.  The effort to make the property appealing on the outside must complement the effort to make it appealing on the inside.

To maintain or improve a property’s curb appeal, the manager should examine the building exterior and grounds through the eyes of a prospective resident.  A prospect who visits the site most likely has not seen it before and naturally forms an impression about the building and the grounds.  Most residents take pride in their dwellings.  Where people live makes a statement to society about them and their character.  Therefore, a prospect’s initial impression of a site will weigh heavily in the decision as to whether to rent an apartment or a building.

Negative visual impacts at curb: garbage cans/totes empty or filled laying around: unsecure dumpsters with raised lid/overflowing: garbage placed on curb in plastic bags, not in covered containers: unregistered vehicles/toys, bicycles laying around/furniture and/or plastic bags of debris on porches (couches, etc.): peeling paint/no storm windows or screens/cracked windows/unsecure mail boxes/broken and/or unsecure doors/poor exterior lighting/blankets-sheets hung at the windows, no blinds/shades or curtains visable, etc.