How would you change the curb appeal of this home?

Rehabbing & House Flipping
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How would you change the curb appeal of this home?

Stephanie Anson
Real Estate Broker · Apex, NC · Member since 2008 · 45 posts · 2 votes

So I just got this home under contract. It is in a great location and neighborhood. Only problem is this weird looking garage. Any ideas on how to improve this curb appeal? Any ideas would be appreciated!

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Bill Gulley
Investor, Entrepreneur, Educator · Springfield, MO · Member since 2009 · 21k+ posts · 12k+ votes
12y

Good thought Lee, but

What's the budget for this face lift? Lots can or could be done?

What's in the neighborhood? Style of homes? Is there a flavor to the neighborhood? What's the target market, nothing particular, boomers, up and coming contemporary types ?

Good ideas above, I'm conservative to bland with a little pop.

IMO curb appeal should match or beat the others near by, stay with the flavor of the area and be maintenance free or low. :)

Say, I think I had one like that one. Entry. living room to the right, dining to the left, straight back to the kitchen, utility off to the left and 1/2 bath, stairs off the entry 4 beds up bath in master back corner, bath off hall up stairs. Family room off kitchen then to the garage? Nice house. :)

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  • Ophelia Nicholson
    Involved In Real Estate · Hyattsville , MD · Member since 2011 · 298 posts · 256 votes
    12y

    Do you have plans to change the exterior color of the house? My suggestion would be to

    1. paint the brick and siding in grey- Pewter grey is beautiful so the white trim on porch, windows, garage stands out.

    2. Change the window above the garage. Keep shutters black.

    3. Flower bed from that first window closest to the garage all the way around to steps on either side. Flower colors probably in red to contrast with the grey. 4. Red front door.

    If you don't plan to change exterior color then I would modify by removing number 1 and 4

    I would do a black door instead- do numbers 2 and 3 and then paint front steps in a nice concrete grey to have contrast.

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  • Jack Tucker
    Real Estate Investor, Flipper, PM, vacation rental, Wholesaler · Athens, GA · Member since 2013 · 260 posts · 210 votes
    12y
    That's a very unfortunate design. The architect should be ashamed. Is this a hold or a flip? The only thing I can see is bridging the roof sections but it would be expensive and purely cosmetic. If the location is as great as you say then the discount for the roof aesthetics may be trivial versus the cost of a patch job. Another strategy is to add bold landscaping colors off to the right of the front, far away from the garage to draw the eye away from that garage side of the house.
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  • Stephanie Anson
    OP
    Real Estate Broker · Apex, NC · Member since 2008 · 45 posts · 2 votes
    12y

    Ophelia- Thanks for the suggestions! We just had the discussion about painting the exterior tonight. What are your thoughts about changing that window. There is some wood rot so we have to change it anyway. Any specific design ideas around that window or do you think just updating that window will improve the appearance?

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  • Stephanie Anson
    OP
    Real Estate Broker · Apex, NC · Member since 2008 · 45 posts · 2 votes
    12y

    Jack- this one is a flip. Had this home not been in the location it is in I probably would have passed but it has a lot of good things vs this bad one. Inventory is very low in this area as well. It It will not be the fastest sell ever, but should make a good profit!

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  • Bill Gulley
    Investor, Entrepreneur, Educator · Springfield, MO · Member since 2009 · 21k+ posts · 12k+ votes
    12y

    I'd use paint, tan rather than white, tan garage door with burgundy trim, burgundy front door, repeat trim, windows the same, paint the posts tan and railings. Shutters burgundy. Lamp post brownish. Down spouts or service pipe burgundy to blend with brick.

    Set boxwood hedge to the left of the drive. Pull the stump out. Line of sight from the picture angle, on the house side of the sidewalk to the front, set an ornamental Chinese red elm closer to the steps, but not next to them. Ivy ground cover around that tree to end of the garden toward the drive way.

    Set a round shrub between the front tree, centered between the tree, drive and sidewalk, triangularly centered. Snowball would be nice or a forsythia.

    Trim the tree so the house is seen from the street.. Lower limb.

    Clean up the rock, might use it along the sidewalk in the ivy. Some around the tree, within 3' from the trunk.

    Get some roof paint, stain the roof black. It's worn/weathered.

    But, I might change my opinion if the pic was straight ahead on the house showing more of the yard..... :)

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  • Lee Marsteller
    Contractor · North Potomac, MD · Member since 2012 · 50 posts · 11 votes
    12y

    It looks like they added the garage and just extended the existing chimney through the new garage roof and had to add to its height to maintain the proper draft/height of the chimney. That's what is really out of balance. Maybe you could add a pergola or something of that nature between the main house and garage in front to pull your eyes to that instead of the chimney.....just a thought for a cost effective "potential" solution. The real solution would be to extend the above garage space over to the main house somehow, but that would be a real investment and you would lose the small window in the upstairs bedroom on the end wall.

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  • Bill Gulley
    Investor, Entrepreneur, Educator · Springfield, MO · Member since 2009 · 21k+ posts · 12k+ votes
    12y

    Good thought Lee, but

    What's the budget for this face lift? Lots can or could be done?

    What's in the neighborhood? Style of homes? Is there a flavor to the neighborhood? What's the target market, nothing particular, boomers, up and coming contemporary types ?

    Good ideas above, I'm conservative to bland with a little pop.

    IMO curb appeal should match or beat the others near by, stay with the flavor of the area and be maintenance free or low. :)

    Say, I think I had one like that one. Entry. living room to the right, dining to the left, straight back to the kitchen, utility off to the left and 1/2 bath, stairs off the entry 4 beds up bath in master back corner, bath off hall up stairs. Family room off kitchen then to the garage? Nice house. :)

    1Reply
  • Mike G.
    Rehabber / Flipper · Simi Valley, CA · Member since 2010 · 597 posts · 259 votes
    12y

    Wow, picky crowd. To me, the house doesn't look that bad at all. The roof looks a little worn, but it's hard to tell from the quality of the photo. The brick looks fine, the house colors look fine. Everything appears to be in good shape. Looks like you have a winner. Hard to tell from the angle of the picture, but you may want to trim the tree if it is significantly obscuring the view of the home.

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  • Bill Gulley
    Investor, Entrepreneur, Educator · Springfield, MO · Member since 2009 · 21k+ posts · 12k+ votes
    12y

    Actually, I agree with mike, work on the yard and trim the tree.

    Please, please, please don't paint brick or stone. If it's really bad, chipping off, flaking, cracked you can consider paint. Painted brick is not popular here, defeats the purpose of having a maintenance free (limited) exterior.

    Top roof left, the facia looks like it needs paint. :)

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  • John Moore
    House Flipper · East Stroudsburg, PA · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 205 votes
    12y

    For a quick flip and low cost I would replace the window, paint the garage door, put up some nice carriage lamps on either side of the door, plant bushes from the garage to the front porch and upgrade the interior of the garage. Paint interior and the floor. If you have a garage door opener open the garage to show off the interior as your showing the property. Keep your budget within means as you may be spending your profit.

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  • Pam R.
    Investor · Delaware, OH · Member since 2013 · 224 posts · 64 votes
    12y

    I don't think the house looks bad either. I agree with some solid landscaping work - the stump, lower branches on the tree, some nice shrubs AND flowers, bold color on the front door, and maybe paint the garage door.

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  • John Rooster
    Denver, CO · Member since 2013 · 409 posts · 105 votes
    12y

    Obviously the big problem is that goofy addition(?) above the garage. The picture of the addition isn't complete and clear enough for me to give a specific suggestion. But I am thinking either, remove it completely, or put a bay window or full dormer window on the front of said addition

    eta: please do not paint the brick, I hate that

    The shape of the garage door opening is very odd. Is that common in your area?

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  • Stephanie Dupuis
    Residential Real Estate Broker · Bremerton, WA · Member since 2013 · 494 posts · 142 votes
    12y

    Please do not paint the brick. I would never buy a house with painted brick - I always just walk on by painted brick houses, fyi.

    I think this place looks fine.

    • The trees are in the way. Trim them.
    • Clean the brick, if needed (around the chimney, esp.).
    • Clean the roof if you can or replace to a color that compliments the natural brick.
    • Paint the shutters
    • Replace the garage door with one you like, inexpensive
    • landscape the front: a. Dora Rhody in garden bed of window with shutters (Dora or similar Rhody - they are sm/med. sized and don't grow too large); b. Heathers or similar along pathway c. Trim lawn along driveway Obviously, I can't see how much room you have, so the plants probably won't work - but you get the idea. The point is - Frame the front porch and walkway. Put fresh dark compost (not bark) in the beds. It presents better. Makes the house and plants look fresh. Keep the compost 1/2 inch below the concrete edge (don't overfill the beds). You just need a slight "color coat".
    • Paint the siding a color that goes well with the brick - you'll need to pick the color b/c none of us can really see the true brick color online. From my puter - I'd say a Dorian Gray (Sherwin Williams) with an off-white for the porch and windows. But...that may look completely different in real life.

    A note on the landscaping. I can't really see how much room you have there, so I'm really just guessing on plants and quantity. But I've found the above plants are affordable and present well. Not sure if they have them in your area, but you can look up similar varieties.

    Nice house!

    0Reply
  • Colin L.
    Architect · San Diego, CA · Member since 2013 · 244 posts · 101 votes
    12y

    i'm in the "it looks pretty good as is" camp. some landscaping and professional photography will do wonders to this property. if it was my place i would try to eliminate those angled corners of the garage door as it really dates the place.

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  • Stephen S.
    Wholesaler · Holiday, FL · Member since 2013 · 571 posts · 221 votes
    12y
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  • Stephen S.
    Wholesaler · Holiday, FL · Member since 2013 · 571 posts · 221 votes
    12y
    My best advice is to a deep breath and look the other way for a while. Get that "weird garage" comment well out of your head.

    That house looks fine to me and I would be astonished towards anyone suggesting that it was anything but. Which is the energy you need to have. Do not let yourself influence potential buyers. Become in love with the look of the house and project that. Say it out loud: I just Love this house - wait until you see it - there is just Something about it . . .

    Prep the interior of course but then I would pressure wash and water seal the brick. Repaint all the trim and in general clean, tidy, and square away the existing yard.

    And I would pressure wash and water seal that driveway too. Then list and show and sell it.

    Oh; that is what I would do first. You are not the buyer. <g>

    stephen
    ------------


    Originally posted by Stephanie Anson:
    So I just got this home under contract. It is in a great location and neighborhood. Only problem is this weird looking garage. Any ideas on how to improve this curb appeal? Any ideas would be appreciated!
    0Reply
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