Pic not real clear...maybe a few more from different angles...and showing whole house...

Thanks. I will take more photos.

The first thing that comes to mind...find another place for the trash bins...maybe before you take pics...

More photos of the front of this 50's house. We have landscaping ordered and plan to paint. Any ideas appreciated. Planning to sell and need as much oomph as we can get.

Fresh paint is a good idea. The gutters need repairing or replacing- these are busted and sagging. You will need to make it clear which is the front door. The one next to the plastic bench? Or the one on the porch?

Clear off the porch, powerwash it or give it a onceover with hot soapy water, leave only a couple of clean and shiny chairs with brand new chair pads and a small table with a lush blooming plant. The plastic storage bench could probably go elsewhere. Add new welcome mat.

The driveway would probably benefit from a coat of asphalt if that's in the budget.

Cleaning windows and screens is worth the time and effort. Ideally, work with one person inside and one outside for fastest, least streaky results.

Nice of you to help your son with the preparations.

I agree with apple. There is a real feeling of run downness with this property. Curb appeal will get buyers past the front door, but you have to also think about the inside. How much is the budget, and what does the inside look like.

Yes...paint will make a big difference...maybe two white rockers with new chair pads...ditto on the gutters they need repair. Landscaping will make a big difference also as it looks overgrown. Maybe a new light fixture would help make clear which is the front door as suggested above. If the step is long enough and is in front of the railing...perhaps a nice pot of geraniums would be nice too...

Love apple pie ideas and agree 100%.
The inside includes paint, new floors and staging. The former owners painted the hardwood. We imagine it was pretty bad or they would not have done that. Considering carpet or possibly refinishing. We know a few $$ thousand might add 10 or more at sale time. Close to a major university. Hopefully a graduate student might purchase to avoid throwing rent money away and it would help son to move on.

Thanks again, it is wonderful to talk to someone.

You are welcome. YOu might get an estimate on refinishing the floors; in my (somewhat expensive) area it runs $3 or a bit more per square foot, far cheaper than new floors. New carpet can be cheaper than refinishing.

I've heard there are places where grad students can afford to buy houses, shocking as that idea is to those of us who scraped by as penniless grad students. If that's the target market here, then low maintenance, simple basic white appliances (with self cleaning stove, though), lots of grounded electrical outlets will appeal. Most grad students don't have time for lots of landscape care. They often have roommates who need parking, preferably well-lit if not covered. A basic washer/dryer pair with brand new (or cleaned out) ductwork to vent the dryer will be really, really attractive to grad students fleeing university housing and shared laundry facilities.

If you want advice on the inside, please start a new thread with "fixing up for sale" somewhere in the title. Posts with photos get more responses. Include a budget range if it is known so people don't advise granite countertops on brand new custom cabinets with a Wolf stove and SubZero fridge.

Any ideas about differentiating the 2 doors? The main front door is on the porch. The other door enters the den, an enclosed garage.

I would pressurewash the brick carefully, if it can stand it. Then pick one of the nice and clean darker brick colors and paint the den's door so it sort of blends into the brick. Paint the main door on the porch a good white or whatever trim color you will be using. Although I am not a fan of wall slogans, a "Welcome" plaque next to the door and a big welcome mat will help define the main door.

Not all brick can be pressure washed. Professional advice on the spot is useful.

Just my two cents, the garbage cans being the first thing you see as you pull in at the top of the driveway doesn't seem very inviting. Not sure if they're there all the time or not since they are in your original photo but not in the later ones. You could probably build a cheap can corral like one of these below to hide them a bit.

I'd clean the porch railing of all loose paint and sand off any rust before repainting with a metal friendly outdoors paint. Currently the railing appears to be white like the downspout. I find that a black railing doesn't catch your eye as much and appears less like a barrier from the road. It might assist in re-directing people to the correct door. When you're repainting the railings, make sure they are not loose or wiggly. They are supposed to be a safety feature if your porch has a drop-off. I'd also fix that downspout - although someone already recommended getting the gutters fixed.

I'm also not sure what I'm seeing through the windows. It almost looks like you have a door off its hinges in front of the one to the far left. At least from the outside, the windows can look better with something unifying them. That's why so many condo units have rules saying that curtains must be white when viewed from outside.

Thanks, Jessica. I like your ideas also. You are very alert. That us a new door inside, not installed yet. So, you think black rails ?

Also, since the driveway is directly in front of the house, I'd get it pressure washed and if there are any oil spots/stains clean them off. There are many different products out there to do this and many auto parts stores sell them. It's one of the less expensive things you can do if you don't plan to get it resurfaced. You could also give that blacktop a coat of the asphault sealant to make it look fresh. Some people look at the driveway and see dollar signs if it needs repairs. http://www.wikihow.com/Clean-Asphalt

By the way, I hope that grill is only being stored on the porch. My parents know someone who tried to grill on a rainy day just under the edge of their carport and lost their whole house when it caught the roof on fire. I agree with the message above that said remove everything from the porch except maybe the swing which should get a fresh coat of paint or stain.

I'm interested to see new photos when you have finished the landscaping since that is really the most outstanding problem.

post pictures after you are able to get a "clean" shot, and a larger image. the porch white painted wrought iron dividers if you will..can be cut off...so 80's, paint the garage door a darker natural tone that will blend with the brick. not sure what you have planned for the rest landscape wise, but i would post pictures after that is done.

paint all railing and trim black.

Hi there - a wonderful entry door color with red brick and white / black trim is a historic soft yellow - i like sw bees wax - it will then call attention to itself. Take all the furniture off the porch except a pair plastic adirondack chairs you can buy at home depot for under $25 (red or yellow or orange - a bright warm tone).

If you had black shutters or some other black elements on the house, I would agree with flair about taking the railing black. As it is, once you clean everything up, and use white paint everywhere liberally (rustoleum spray for the wrought iron and gutters, please), I'm not sure you get any advantage to blacking these out. If you were up for framing the aluminum posts with wood and trimming that out top and bottom, that one small gesture would improve the look a lot - obviously the railing still needs to attach to the posts inside so there is a clever cut on the box framing (use 2x12 and 2x14 to box in the older aluminum swirly columns and put some trim at top and bottom - exterior grade fir - primed and painted before install, then nail holes sunk / filled touched up).

It will be a few weeks, but we will post pictures. Now we are working...

New gutters coming. Stripping the iron rails of 50 years of paint is a journey. Don't take it if you can help it.

look up remodel 1970

We aren't through, but see a lot of improvement. Thanks to everyone who offered suggestions. You have to see the earlier picture beside this one to realize the huge difference already. Now, on to the doors!

No more jungle! Looks much neater and tidier. You survived the railing repainting. Are you going with black or white railings?

Confusing entrance to the house. I would paint the white door dark like the front door and then give the front door a bright color.

Great progress mj! Thanks so much for sharing with us - that is a lot of yardwork and attention to detail on the railing. Great view of the lovely big window now that the railing has been adjusted and the black is working to take it out of the scene. Lots of work is paying off.

Still working. Improved but not finished .

Huge improvement!

what a difference, mjbratton! when i first read your post, my first instinct was to tell you to tear out the front porch roof, because it was detracting from the house. with all of the suggestions here, you have made vast improvements! good luck selling your son's home!

Box in the skinny columns so that they are in correct proportion, and consider replacing the railings with a wooden rail and posts. Freshly paint all in a color that works -- white or black, perhaps. Agree with all the other suggestions such as power washing.

My childhood home was new in 1953 and looked a lot like this home. We had an awning by the front door, but not a fully roofed porch. This porch looks like an add. It probably darkens the interior and it hides the three nice front windows. It brings the roof-line out and lowers it. Could the roof of the porch be removed? Should it be? Or could the slant of the porch roof be different?

Just a quick note on the color of the secondary door. Can see you tried to match the brick - if this is just a first coat then ignore . .. one more coat of brown nearly red brick red will help but much easier to shift to premixed black here and do the front door in a pretty buttery yellow - try sw bees wax. These will work with the remaining white trim but advance the curb appeal. If the front faces south, leave the porch roof. Otherwise, if you have the budget and patience, pull it - you can do some demo, need a rough carpenter / framer and then a roofer ( quote for repairing just the front where it tied in, tuning up any existing vent caulking), and leave a wide shed of it over the front door only - use some wood brackets on each side to hold it up / out and lose the perimeter posts altogether .. . try a vinyl / trex porch railing instead. It will bring charm back ..

I would suggest you paint the brick and all the trim white and then install plantation shutters that are the same color as the roof.

Old post

We used your suggestions and he sold,the house for,twice what he paid,