(This is the fourth of an on-going series about real estate flipping. My introductory post covered the basics and the third described an investor’s proper mindset before planning improvements.)

Let’s review. Flip investors often make two money mistakes which chew their profit pie: underestimating quiet/holding costs and over-improving a home for a given neighborhood. It’s understandably easy to go overboard fixing a place because you’ve spent hours locating a diamond in the rough and you’ve fallen in love with the possibilities; but, the key to boosting and protecting your eventual net gain on sale is not to reproduce a diamond but rather appeal to a broad audience so the home sells quickly. You want your flip home to look sharp, but not necessarily be biggest, best and brightest in the neighborhood. Remember this series is looking from the perspective of a flip investor assessing what future buyers will find attractive in the eventual purchase property. I’m going to cover some generalities but neighborhood specifics will drive the improvements, which is why if you’re just landing on this post I encourage you to read first Know the Hood.

So how do you achieve pretty but not prettiest? You research other homes around the subject property and then spend money on improvements that carry the best return without getting carried away. In the last post, I promised a room-by-room consideration of what’s smart versus showing off and flushing cash. Let’s start with the first thing potential buyers see when they get out of their car, the “curb” to the front door. Here I’ll deal with landscaping, no doubt important, only from the perspective of curb appeal.

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), 80 percent of buyers begin their search for a new home on the Internet. If you’ve done proper neighborhood research and gotten to know some of the residents, you’ll also likely generate some buzz from within the neighbor’s sphere. Regardless how potential buyers arrive at the flip home, they’ll judge in seconds whether to get out of car to explore based on what they see as they pull up, this is why curb appeal is so critical for preventing the about-face or drive-away. You could have the Sistine Chapel inside but they’ll never see it if the outside is displeasing.

So what are the important visual points as someone arrives? Buyers’ eyes will scan top-down, starting from the roof to the siding, front door/threshold, driveway, sidewalks and overall appearance of the yard. I’ll cover the roof and siding another time but will mention now that you can’t take shortcuts fixing a roof and not have it draw attention like a siren. At the same time, you don’t want to install a copper roof if the rest of the homes have asphalt shingles. Same thing with siding, what’s typical?  Would a spot fix draw attention?

Your best friends for cost effective exterior improvement are mulch, paint and power-washing. You can inexpensively power wash anything so that’s a good place to start to learn whether that will do the trick, including sidewalks and driveway. If the walkway path is paver stones, power washing can bring to life by blasting the dirt from crevices. Before replacing anything, give it a good cleaning and see how it looks.

Paint is perhaps the greatest bang for the buck, you recoup nearly all your expense. The front door and threshold is critical for drawing a visitors’ eyes, so much so that it could very well be worth getting a brand new door; however, try first repainting and polishing and/or replacing the hardware (door knob, kick plate). If the front door is so aged and beyond cleaning help, then replacing with something that’s typical for the neighborhood is probably a good expense.

The yard should be green and clean so, depending on the time of year, throwing some weed and feed or grass seed isn’t a wallet buster. Keep the grass cut and don’t skimp on mulch. Some investors lose control buying bushes and other expensive plantings. Keep it simple, edge, prune and mulch with a few basic flower selections that won’t offend or be too daunting to maintain. Remember not to cross the line showing off because you’re just needlessly spending. Mulch (or chips) keeps down weeds and makes certain areas look organized and more “landscaped” than what you really spent. Edge with a flat bladed shovel before mulching to make crisp the border between mulch and yard. (Edging also holds in the mulch.)

Rehearse by walking the path buyers will from their car. Stand back and look at the big picture and then stare at specifics along the course to the door. What sticks out or draws attention away from the entrance? Cracks in the driveway or sidewalk, weeds, overgrowth, clutter (e.g. garden hose or knick knacks), spotty painting/repair, damaged exterior light fixtures, all of this needs to be rectified, short of replacing if you can improve without covering up! (which could be fraudulent). Don’t forget the mailbox (worth saving?) and I’ll address gutters when I write about roofing, siding and shutters.

Finally, relate to the front door as the Grand Entrance, although it isn’t Vegas. If you’re going to splurge on something, the front entry is a key focal point so consider a new planter, light fixture(s) or door hardware. You only get one shot to make a good first impression and you want the buyer to tour the inside of the house so the entryway sets the tone but the view from the curb gets them out of the car so make sure everything is orderly, green and clean.