Please repost your pictures here in the comments. You accidentally posted them in a way that opens them as tiny thumbnails.

This is my first time posting. Hoping these show up normal size.

Given the time of year the pictures were taken I would not be so sure the bushes are dead. They're probably just deciduous, like the surrounding trees. If you are not familiar with shrub care I would leave well alone. I think the one to the right of the steps is a Hydrangea and if you cut it back now without knowing what you're doing you'll destroy this year's flower buds. Can't id the other from this distance. I honestly think your mother's right. Maybe paint the front door and stick a pot of bright annuals on the landing. Just keep up with weeding, ensuring you know which plants are weeds and which aren't, and leave it at that.

It's an adorable little house. First thing I would do is powerwash the front steps and sidewalk. Painting the porch floor would make a huge difference too. I'd pick a dark brown color.

Not sure if parge coating is something you would consider for the concrete masonry units (cmus or more commonly, cinderblocks). It is a thin cement coating that will cover the surface of the cmu and eliminate most of the joint lines. The parge coat can then be painted.

Cute bungalow! The best bang for your buck will be power washing and painting the front door/storm door something colorful, repaint the peeling porch floor and change numbers as proposed earlier. Add a planter with some colorful plants under the light and a nice door mat to finish things off. You should also tidy up plantings and mulch beds around the house.

Sweet "starter home", it will sell fast if priced properly. Plant lots of yellow marigolds in the foundation beds. Have the entry walk, porch, and stairs power washed, then paint the door and porch floor as shown (pale blue door and yellow flowers are always a winner). That's all you need for the exterior. Be sure to keep the grass mowed, and water the flowers when necessary.

I agree that you have a very nice bungalow!

The suggestions by others above are spot on: powerwash porch floor and walkway, paint the porch floor a color to match the siding, paint your front door a bright accent color, change the porch light to something larger (much larger), large address numbers to be seen from the street, and fresh landscape. Post in the landscape forum for specific help there.

Do you need a railing on the porch over on the left? If so, have that done before you put it on the market. Do you have any wood rot or dry rot in the siding? If so, have that done before you market the home. Small repairs? Those would be best made before putting it on the market.

Here is a cute bungalow with cute curb appeal because of the front door color, the walkway approach, and the landscaping. Yours could be similar without spending a lot of money.

Cozy Cottage · More Info

Cute little house but remember the insides are what is the thing that people really buy. I agree with the above about powerwashing and some nice bright flowers and mow that grass often while the house is on the market. How much money are you willing to spend? Could we see the interior too. I love the size of the lot so that will be a bonus.

BTW if you are working full time before giving up talk to your bank they have options to get into home ownership .

Yes to all of the above. Power wash, paint the porch with concrete paint, bigger house numbers, and some annuals planted in between the shrubs for some color. Don't forget to paint the support post as well. Pull the weeds and maybe lay down some clean mulch in the flower beds.

Can someone tell me what I need to do to respond to a specific response? All I see under each response is a like option.

There is no option to respond under the responses (like Reddit). But you can draw a posters attention by putting in at @ symbol before their screen name.

Thank you!!

@mindshift Sorry for the late reply and thanks for responding...I agree with changing the address #’s and I do plan on repainting the porch. I have to keep it the red brick color though or something close. Long story...I like the idea of the door, but I’m not digging the blue. I would like to put some window boxes under the windows if I can scrounge up the cash, so I guess I would paint those to match whatever color I decide to do on the door. I’ve been trying to figure out how you changed the color of the door in my picture, but I’ve given up. How the heck did you do that and how do I try on different colors or add in products from the stores Houzz affiliate with? Oh, as for the bush, no, it’s not dead. I was just being dramatic:) It just needs some care.

If you want to play with the door color, just upload a picture of the door into the Sherwin Williams website. You can paint it any color they have!

I think a plant stand with a nice flowering stand to the left of the door will balance out the fact that the door is off-center. Just make sure the plant isn't in the way as one is opening the door. The nice thing about this is that you get to take the plant stand and plant with you, after the house is sold. I like the house number idea on the left, as well. I think it's a sweet-looking little house.

@Northwood Architects Thanks for the response. I’ve never heard of “parge” but I wondered about painting the cinder block. It’s probably not at the top of my list, but I’m considering it. I’ll google it. You can’t tell from the picture, but there’s too much space between the ground and siding. It looks like there should be shrubs or a raised bed of some sort. None of which I can really do myself or afford, I guess, so I’ve been googling to find a cheaper alternative to make the front look right. There used to be shrubs there, I believe. If a miracle happens and I can figure out how to afford living here permanently, I’d want the least amount of up keep as possible. I’m also an extreme perfectionist and won’t be satisfied with just mediocre. So, basically, I’m a champagne gal on a beer budget. Like the kind of beer you drank in high school 😬

I wouldn't mess with window boxes -- they're a pain to keep looking good, a pain to install and not necessarily cheap. Instead I'd pick up some inexpensive terra-cotta pots (check garage sales, etc.) and fill a large one with colorful annuals. Fill in between the shrubs with more annual flowers -- look for six-packs (I just paid $3.49 for six packs of annuals at my local store.) I agree with others that power washing the stairs and painting the landing and door will buy you the most curb appeal for little cash. If you don't want color, repaint the door white or black and it will look much better. You're a good daughter and granddaughter, Andrea.

Andrea, I used to be a mortgage broker. Is your Nana's house in a bigger city or a more rural town?

How many bedrooms? Maybe if you got a roommate or two you could swing it? It's a darling house.

Oh, I wish you could find a way to keep that darling house. Yes to painting the door-pick a color you love, but I would choose something bright and happy.

Why does the porch floor need to stay that rust/brick color? I think mindshift's photoshop with a color that blends in with other parts of the house looks wonderful!

There are plenty of shrubs that are low maintenance and can be gotten for not a huge outlay of money. You wouldn't need too many because they need room to grow. You could fill in with colorful annuals in the meanwhile. Can't make any recommendations without knowing what zone you are in-for instance, here in northern VA I am in zone 7B (or maybe 7A-I can never remember).

@katinparadise I am located in Oshkosh, WI (B’gosh overalls/EAA air show:) 67,000 pop and in a nice well-kept residential neighborhood.

Leave the siding and trim colors as is.

The bush to the right of the steps may be a Hydrangea just beginning to put out new growth. If so, last year's "dead" limbs could prob ably be cut above the new green leaves.

https://www.finegardening.com/article/pruning-hydrangeas

You could probably trim all the bushes to the same top-of-the-foundation height rather than remove any of them, however, trimming some shrubs in the spring can prevent blooming the spring/summer they're trimmed.

https://www.google.com/search?q=hydrangea+bush+in+early+spring&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwiB64nY2pHpAhUHPlMKHc1XC58Q2-cCegQIABAA&oq=hydrangea+bush+in+early+spring&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzICCABQ9khYtldg9lhoAHAAeACAAWKIAfAKkgECMTaYAQCgAQGqAQtnd3Mtd2l6LWltZw&sclient=img&ei=kZWrXsHeOof8zALNr634CQ&bih=648&biw=1348&client=firefox-b-1-d#imgrc=Ix5XQ9anbCXP3M

If you're repainting the door, consider repainting it the same color as yo use for the porch floor, even if you use a different shade of the same color; if red, perhaps a dark brick red. This may have been done with a stencil -- the local big box building supply may have magazines on how to do this.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/170996117074441325/

If you were keeping the house, I'd suggest exterior "brick" tiles for the porch.

https://www.downtoearthtile.com/

Read somewhere that interest rates are supposedly low because of the pandemic r elated delays in the usual spring building/buying/selling of homes. If this is an estate sale, there may be debts to pay and multiple heirs that want to maximize the sale price; however, if you truly want this cottage, consider checking with local lenders about potential options.

So many comments already, I almost hate to add another. But here goes. BTW, I detest the too long running fad of painting the front door zonky beach colors. Surely, at some point in the future, we'll look back and think that "that is so teens" or "twenties." Just the tasteful trim color, here white, it fine and wouldn't offend anyone. (Use high gloss latex/acrylic for a brighter cleaner look.) I would paint the gutter white such that it was part of the trim. Paint the downspout the body color of the house to camouflage it.

The only change that I think would be worth the bother, because it is not too big, is to change the single plain and weak looking porch post to a 6"x6" turned post, or a 6" simple tapered column ... painted white, of course.

Andrea, go to the nursery and get some bright flowers. maybe some red and white begonias. or something that colorful but easy. plant those in the flower beds. mulch up the dirt. If it doesn't get direct sun. Coleus are always good

look up, DIY window boxes. make a few. they're easy. hang them w/brackets

Get some Porch paint. a pint is fine. get a small pint of Door paint. I gave you green, but you can do any color

See the diff?

get some new numbers, nail them on a piece of wood, or paint a piece of wood, and hang under your new light.

I gave you a dutch door in a pale green, but you can do any color.

Cedar window box. along the other windows too.

Then just get some color in those flower beds!

match your flowers to the color door you choose. don't be afraid to do some pastel colors on the door. If you do yellow/white flowers, do a bold canary yellow door, or a lavender door. Red and white flowers? do a navy blue door.

power wash your siding so it's clean.

Touch up any white trim on the porch posts.

cyn427 NoVaZone7

Google says I’m a zone 4 :)

There are a couple reasons why I can’t paint the porch a different color. One reason is, because I’d like to keep the house somewhat true to how my grandma left it when she passed and because my mom is going to kill me when she finds out I’ve put money into the house. She plans on selling “as is” and doesn’t care how much money she gets for it. I think she just wants to move forward without a lot of fuss, because it’s hard for her to deal with the emotions of having lost both her parents. My Nana never really aged physically or cognitively and lived in this house until she was 100 and every time I try to change something lights will flicker or things will shift and make noise. She’d be mad at me for spending my money on this for sure. I’m supposed to be saving right now:/
For some reason I like how the color of the porch stands out too.

i posted a red porch paint. fine if you want to keep it that color, just get a small pint of it and freshen it. you only have one chance to make a first impression.

do the porch, the front door, and the flowers. $100

@Yardvaark

Lol! The post was what I was monkeying around with today. Had a guy here looking at the masonry and he told me to leave the wood post that’s there, but cover with a pvc sleeve (or whatever you call those). When I do something though it’s all or nothing, so I want to just get a whole new wood post and then a sleeve to cover it. I think it should be bigger too, but there’s an indentation on the awning that it fits into. I think a bigger post may be doable though, as it would just cover the indent instead of fitting inside it.

@Beth H. :

Love the flowers! The front of the house gets direct sun and is facing east. For the porch, I’m going to need to get special paint and primer, because it’s concrete, but I have pamphlets on how to do it. I’m just waiting to find someone to change out the post for me.

andrea,,,I just posted a picture of it above!

just get the porch paint! scrape off any loose paint on the cement. use a little sand paper to get anything smooth. clean very well.

Paint. (use a satin, not a gloss tho. )

here are two links w/how to paint a concrete porch

https://www.uglyducklinghouse.com/porch-paint-before-and-after/

https://newlywoodwards.com/painting-a-concrete-porch/

don't forget the front door paint

I love me some Oshkosh overalls. All my kids had them and now I have a pair for my granddaughter! You've mentioned buying the house. Is this something you'd truly like to do? Is it remotely feasible?

Your Mom wants to be rid of the house ASAP. You want to buy it. First - make sure you understand about all the costs of ownership. If you still feel confident, go to your bank (call first for an appointment), bring copies of your Fed tax returns for the last few years and ask about "mortgages", there are several different "ways" to get one. You might qualify for a HUD loan.

Why is everybody so down on the house numbers? They're super 40s-cute. Just clean them up and move them under the lamp.

Chiflipper, I was thinking she may qualify for a USDA loan since she's in Wisconsin. She can check the USDA website to see if the zip code qualifies. They're a great loan for a first time homebuyer.

And I would stay away from the banks now. Try a non-bank lender like Guaranteed Rate - they do USDA mortgage loans. The banks are adding significant overlays right at the moment - and not just JP Morgan Chase - Wells and many of the others too. Overlays can take a qualified buyer and make the restrictions so tough that the qualified buyer (at almost any other lender) no longer qualifies due to the overlays and then gets discouraged. No, not all lenders are the same.

Denita-I'm curious as to what you mean by overlays. I did mortgages for 5 years and am in the middle of a refi but haven't heard of this term. Personally, I always prefer to go through a broker I trust but my husband wanted to stick with the same bank we currently have who happened to buy our mortgage a few years ago-Fifth Third.

Fannie, Freddie, HUD, etc have minimum guidelines to qualify for a mortgage. However the originating lender can make those guidelines more restrictive than what the minimum guidelines require. That's very common for the big banks to do and those more restrictive guidelines are referred to as overlays. As an example of a more restrictive guideline, Chase made headlines recently when they said they require a minimum 700 credit score and minimum 20% down for a conventional mortgage loan. Neither Fannie nor Freddie have those requirements to purchase the loan. There are many examples of these overlays but I've noticed hardly anyone talks about them. Each lender sets their own lending standards. Some have overlays, some don't.
And, at the big box banks many of the LOs aren't informed that their guidelines are much more restrictive than other lenders.

The reason I suggested she try Guaranteed Rate is because they don't have overlays :)