Curb Appeal – Part 1

I know this article is coming out at the beginning of fall and it might seem a little strange to have an article on curb appeal this time of the year, but to get people to come into your complex, you need to think about curb appeal all year long…

So what is curb appeal?  Landscaping, yes, but it goes beyond just landscaping.  To have the best curb appeal, you need to make sure your property is clean, no trash, weeds and/or damage to the buildings.  Curb appeal is how appealing your property is to others.

Landscaping:  Make sure you use bright colorful flowers and plants.  You can have flower beds, but also throw in some containers of flowers.   These containers can hide some sightly things…electric boxes, etc.  They can also be put in places where flower beds can’t be put…do you have a lot of sidewalks, or a small area…containers are great for those places.

Signs:  You want to make your sign appealing to everyone.  Make it readable.  It doesn’t have to have a lot of information, just your property name and phone number will work.  Maybe the office hours.  You want them to know how to get in touch with you.  Make sure you do some landscaping around the sign.  Don’t plant anything that will cover up your sign.  Have a spotlight that will shine on the sign at night.   You can get solar powered ones now, so you don’t have to know how to be an electrician to hook them up.

Balloons & Flags:  I like to have balloons/flags on my sign or close to it about once a month for a couple days.  A “Now Leasing” sign with balloons will attract people passing by and if why not have a coffee and donut special on these days.  Have pictures of activities you’ve done on your property so they can look at them while enjoying the donuts and getting to know you and your staff.  This is great if you are doing an Open House, etc.  The balloons will let people know something special is going on and the pictures and conversation will let them know you are the right place for them.