Tip of the Month - February 2010
CURB APPEAL
Source: Principles of Real Estate Management/5th Edition
IREM-Institute of Real Estate Management
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.
Tip from Crossett Real Estate Services
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.