Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Considering Paint Colors When Preparing Your Property for Sale


It is undisputed that the decision to purchase real estate is very much an emotional one. To spike the emotional interest, you need to consider the paint schemes of your property.

Considering Paint Colors When Preparing Your Property for Sale

A very odd thing seems to happen to people when they decide to sell their home. They immediately start doing all the improvements they meant to do all those years, but never got around to. When the home is ready to be listed, it is usually in the best condition it has ever been. Put another way, we clean it for someone else. Sprucing up a property prior to selling is definitely the right move, but it is odd that we make it nicer for someone else than we do for ourselves!

If you know the least thing about real estate, you understand the concept of curb appeal. Curb appeal is simply the appearance of the home from the street. The goal, of course, is to have great curb appeal so a potential buyer is hooked when they first drive up to the property. If they fall in love at the first glance, they will often overlook problem areas and make an offer.

A big part of curb appeal and the emotional hook in selling a home is the color. If you walk through any crowded area, you know humans have very different ideas on what constitutes good taste. Very different! In the case of your property, you must acknowledge this fact when considering the paint scheme. Just because you like deep burgundy does not mean most potential buyers will.

The first rule when discussing the color of a property is the clash rule. In this case, the key is to go with a color on the exterior of your home that does not clash with the other properties on your block. While a unique color may look good on the house in the abstract, it can make it an eyesore in the neighborhood as a whole.

The second rule with paint schemes it emphasis. The nature of most properties is they have appealing sections and utilitarian sections. If possible, the appealing sections such as trim around bay windows should be painted in a darker color. Conversely, utilitarian areas such as sizeable flat walls should be painted in a lighter color. This strategy will draw the eye of potential buyers to the appealing sections and away form the utilitarian areas.

Everyone has different tastes when it comes to clothes, cars, people and homes. Apply these rules to the color scheme of your home and you shouldn't have any problems. Now, about that tie...

1 comment:

Water Damage Houston, TX said...

Very good tips!
Thanks! ~Lindsay