"How To Create Curb Appeal"

Think of curb appeal as the dynamic first impression a well-designed house and garden creates, regardless of its style. When your house has curb appeal, it’s a pleasure and a source of pride to live there. When you’re selling, curb appeal is important for other reasons:

•  The picture of the front of your house is the primary image that’s used to market it on line, where over 90% of buyers shop first, as well as in the MLS listing and in the newspaper. You have only a few seconds to capture the buyer’s attention, so pictures have to portray a house with a “wow’ factor.
• If your house lacks curb appeal when seen in person, many buyers will go no farther than viewing it from the car with the engine running, and move on to the next house after just a few seconds. 
• If buyers find your house on-line, come to see it and get out of the car, a house with genuine curb appeal will meet their expectations, instead of disappointing them. They’ll begin to think of the house as potentially their new home.

If you know that your house could use more curb appeal, but you don’t know what to do or how to begin, there’s good news. Noted landscape architect Ed Lastein, horticulture expert Mickey Lively of Garden Gate Nursery in Hendersonville, and designer/stager Sandy LeRoy of Sterling Property Services have developed a new course on “How To Create Curb Appeal”, with ideas for people who are building a house, updating or selling. 

The material will be presented on three consecutive Thursday evenings from 6:30 – 8:30pm at the Flat Rock campus of Blue Ridge Community College, from May 19 to June 2, 2011. The course also will be offered at the Columbus campus of Isothermal Community College from June 9 to 23, 2011. Here are the details for both locations: "How To Create Curb Appeal"

In the first session, Sandy LeRoy will introduce basic design concepts that will be applied throughout the course. Ed Lastien will discuss site considerations, the design process, landscape design principles and the benefits of hiring a professional. In the second session, Sandy LeRoy will guide you through the process of choosing paint colors, including techniques to camouflage the unsightly and make the most of the architecture. The third session will feature Mickey Lively on choosing plants for curb appeal, caring for plants, curb appeal strategies for home sellers and lawns.

To register for the course at BRCC, call the Continuing Education Office at 828-694-1743. To register for the course at Isothermal, call 828-894-3092 x10. For more information about what the course will cover, call Sandy LeRoy at 685-0560.