Selling Next Spring? 10 Curb Appeal Projects to Tackle This Fall
If you’re planning to sell a home in the Chicago suburbs next spring, fall is one of the best times to start tackling exterior projects. Don’t wait until March or April to start getting the outside ready.
Some of the best curb appeal projects can — and should — be handled in the fall. Once spring arrives, you may be dealing with cold temperatures, rain, mud, unpredictable Chicagoland weather, and contractors whose schedules are suddenly filling up.
And curb appeal matters more than many sellers realize. Buyers start forming an opinion about your home the moment they pull up — long before they ever walk through the front door.
I’m Jamie Hering with the Hering Homes Team. I’ve been selling real estate for more than 11 years, and my team and I have helped more than 1,400 families buy and sell homes throughout the Chicago suburbs and Southern Wisconsin.
After walking up to a LOT of homes with buyers, trust me: they’re noticing things before we ever get inside.
So, if you’re thinking about selling next spring, here are 10 things I’d be looking at this fall — plus a few projects I’d actually wait until spring to tackle.
1. Sealcoat the Driveway
Start with something homeowners tend to overlook: the driveway.
If you have an asphalt driveway that has become faded or gray or has minor cracks, fall can be a great time to sealcoat it, assuming weather conditions are still appropriate.
A freshly sealcoated driveway can make the entire exterior look cleaner and better maintained. You may barely notice your driveway anymore because you see it every day, but buyers do.
That dark, freshly sealed driveway next to clean landscaping can make the whole property feel more polished.
That doesn’t mean every seller needs to sealcoat. If your driveway already looks good, leave it alone. The goal is smart maintenance, not spending money simply because you’re selling.
2. Do a REAL Fall Cleanup — Including the Gutters
When I say fall cleanup, I don’t mean raking the leaves once and calling it a day.
Clean out your landscape beds. Pull weeds. Remove dead annuals. Pick up sticks and branches. Cut back plants that should be cut back, and remove leaves collecting around your foundation, shrubs and AC unit.
This is also the time to clean out your gutters and make sure your downspouts are working properly. You don’t want to head into winter with clogged gutters and water overflowing or draining right next to your foundation.
And nothing says “deferred maintenance” quite like little trees growing out of your gutters.
Take a look at the rest of your yard, too. Random empty flowerpots? Broken hose reel? Old garden decorations? Kids’ toys nobody uses anymore?
Get rid of them.
Think of this as pre-listing decluttering for the outside of your house.
3. Take Care of Exterior Painting While You Can
If you already know the exterior needs paint, don’t assume you’ll be able to take care of it right before you list in early spring.
Walk around your house and really look at it.
Check the window trim, front door, shutters, garage trim, porch railings, fascia and any painted siding. Look for peeling, fading, cracking or chipped paint.
This doesn’t necessarily mean repainting the entire exterior.
Sometimes a freshly painted front door, touched-up trim or refreshed porch is enough to make a noticeable difference.
If it needs to be done, take advantage of suitable fall weather rather than hoping March cooperates.
4. Clean Your Windows
This one is incredibly underrated.
Clean the exterior glass, screens, tracks and window sills.
Clean windows make your home look better from the street, but they also matter once buyers get inside. Clean glass allows more natural light into the house, and natural light can make rooms feel brighter and more inviting.
Will you probably want to clean them again before your home officially hits the market? Yes.
But if they're already dirty, don't add an entire winter's worth of grime on top of what's there.
5. Get Rid of the Spiderwebs
Please. Remove the spiderwebs.
Pay particular attention to your front entrance, exterior light fixtures, garage door, shutters, soffits and the corners around your porch.
You don’t want prospective buyers arriving at your front door and being greeted by Charlotte and her entire extended family.
And here’s something sellers often don’t realize: buyers spend a surprising amount of time standing at your front door.
They’re waiting while their Realtor opens the lockbox — and they're looking around.
That means they're noticing the dirty light fixture. The peeling paint. The cobweb in the corner. The dead plant you forgot about.
Your front entrance is one of the most important curb appeal areas of your home. Make it spotless.
6. Fresh Mulch: Fall or Spring?
Should you put down fresh mulch this fall if you’re planning to sell in the spring?
It depends.
If your landscape beds are bare and look terrible, add enough mulch now to make them look maintained and protect the beds.
But if your mulch looks reasonably good, I’d save the big refresh for spring.
Fresh mulch is one of my favorite relatively inexpensive curb appeal improvements because it immediately defines the landscaping and makes everything look finished.
But if you put down a beautiful fresh layer in September or October, it won’t look nearly as fresh when your house hits the market in April or May.
Clean up the beds now. Add mulch if you need it. Then plan your final fresh layer right before listing.
7. Trim Overgrown Trees and Shrubs
Take a look at what your landscaping is doing to the house itself.
Are tree branches touching or hanging over the roof?
Are shrubs covering half of your windows?
Are branches blocking the front elevation?
Has the landscaping become so overgrown that it's encroaching on the walkway?
One of my biggest curb appeal rules is simple:
Your landscaping should frame your house — not hide it.
If a beautiful front window is completely covered by a giant shrub, we have a problem.
Just remember that different trees and shrubs should be pruned at different times of year. Before you start cutting everything back, check with a landscaper or arborist about what should be trimmed in the fall and what should wait.
8. Make Sure People Can Find Your Address
Here’s one almost nobody thinks about:
Can someone actually see your house number from the street?
Drive past your house and look at it as though you’ve never been there before.
If the numbers are tiny, faded, outdated, hidden behind landscaping or almost the same color as your house, consider replacing or relocating them.
You don’t need anything elaborate. Clean, simple, visible house numbers can actually make an exterior feel more updated.
And once your home goes on the market, you'll have buyers, Realtors, photographers, inspectors, appraisers and delivery drivers trying to find it.
Make it obvious.
9. Take a Look at Your Mailbox
I'm not suggesting everyone replace their mailbox before selling.
But if yours is leaning at a 45-degree angle, rusted, dented, missing numbers, held together with duct tape or looks like it lost a fight with a snowplow, it may be time.
It's a relatively small detail, but it's also one of the first things buyers see.
If the mailbox itself is fine, maybe it simply needs to be cleaned. Perhaps the post needs fresh paint or the address numbers need replacing.
Again, we're not spending money just to spend money.
We're fixing the little things that could make a buyer wonder, “What else hasn't been maintained?”
10. Take Photos of Your Yard NOW
This is my Realtor tip that sellers almost never think about until it's too late.
Take pictures of your yard while it still looks good.
If your trees still have leaves, take pictures.
If your landscaping is beautiful, take pictures.
If you have a great backyard, patio, firepit, pool, perennial gardens or outdoor entertaining space, photograph it.
Why?
Because if your home hits the market in March and the yard is brown, muddy or covered in snow, I want buyers to be able to see what the property looks like when it's actually in season.
You don't necessarily need professional photography yet. Even good phone photos can document your landscaping, show what blooms where and give us something to work with when you're ready to list.
What Should You Wait Until Spring to Do?
Not everything needs to happen now.
If you're selling next spring, I'd generally save the final cosmetic touches for closer to your listing date. Put down your final layer of fresh mulch in the spring. Add colorful annuals and planters right before listing. Power wash the walkways, patio or siding closer to market so they’re freshly cleaned. Give the windows one final cleaning and do a last yard cleanup once winter is over.
The easiest way to remember it is:
Fall is for the projects. Spring is for the polish.
Thinking About Selling Next Spring? Start Planning Now.
One of the biggest mistakes I see sellers make is waiting until they're ready to put the sign in the yard before they start preparing their home.
If there's even a chance you're selling next spring, walk across the street and look at your house like a buyer would.
Look at the driveway. The paint. The landscaping. The trees. The windows. The front door. Even the mailbox and house numbers.
Then ask yourself:
If I were seeing this house for the first time, what would my first impression be?
Curb appeal isn't about making your house perfect. It's about making buyers feel like the home has been well cared forbefore they ever step inside.
And if you're thinking about selling in the Chicago suburbs or Southern Wisconsin next spring, reach out to me now — not a week before you want your home on the market.
I'd much rather walk through your home months in advance and help you determine what's worth doing, what can wait, and, just as importantly, what you shouldn't spend money on before you sell.
Jamie Hering
The Hering Homes Team
RealtorJamie.com
