(Tribune photo illustration/photos courtesy of Jeld-Wen Windows & Doors /

Thirty seconds isn't much time to sell someone on your biggest investment, but often it is all the time buyers spend in deciding whether they are interested in a home.

Buyers begin sizing up a home the moment they pull up to it, which is why maximizing its curb appeal can help get more buyers through the front door and improve its sales potential.

Eileen Landau, a broker with Realty Executives in Naperville, says she has had clients who have refused to go into a home when they didn't like what they saw from its outside, and she's not alone.

A recent Real Estate Agent Community Trends survey, sponsored by Jeld-Wen Inc., found 82 percent of real estate agents had buyers refuse to look inside a house based on its exterior appearance.

"You want to do everything you can to get the attention of a buyer. The better impression they have of the outside, the more emotionally favorable they will be to its interior," Landau says.

Sellers should consider a home's "Web appeal" too, says Craig Schiller, a home stager and principal of Real Estaging in Park Ridge. Because many buyers begin by prescreening houses on the Internet to determine which houses to visit, finding ways to make one stand out can give it an advantage over its competition.

"People always say buying a house is the biggest purchase of your life. The reverse is also true: Selling a home is the biggest sale of your life. You want to do all you can to make buyers excited about your house," Schiller says.

Dressing up the exterior of a house may cost a few hundred dollars to several thousands, depending on its competition, condition and your checkbook. Here are some strategies to update its look:

Take a big-picture view

Many of us find it hard to be impartial about the home we live in. We get used to the screen door sticking or no longer notice how overgrown the front hedge really is.

"The biggest mistake homeowners make is to fail to take an objective view of what their home really is. But when we're selling, we have to look at our house from a buyer's perspective, not our own," says Lou Manfredini, Ace's Helpful Hardware Man and WGN-Radio's "Mr. Fix-It."

Enlist a friend or co-worker to take a look at your house with a fresh set of eyes, Manfredini suggests.

"The first thing you do is to walk across the street," he says. Are there loose shingles? Gutters that aren't attached or need cleaning? Broken branches hanging near the roof line? Are the windows and doors in good shape? Do the shrubs need trimming?

Snapping a black-and-white photo also can help an owner cast a critical eye, says Daniel C. Owens, a landscape designer featured on HGTV's "Curb Appeal" and managing partner of EnviroMagic in San Francisco.

Without color distracting the eye, the photo can reveal which positive aspects deserve highlighting and which negative points need to be fixed or concealed.

"Every home has some inherent beauty to it, and that's what you need to find and enhance," Owens says.

Keep to the theme

Key in on your home's architectural style and use that as a guide to drive decisions about improvements from landscaping to light fixtures to paint.

"The worst thing you can do is put a traditional door on a contemporary house," Owens says. "Keep within the original theme of a house and don't try to make it something it's not."

The same goes with the landscaping, says Troy Ripley, a landscape designer with Chalet Landscape in Wilmette. An English garden in front of a modern house would look out of place.

"The landscaping should reflect the architectural style of the home," he says.

A professional landscape designer may play off of distinctive architectural details; so the curve of flower bed should complement the curve of a house's windows, Ripley says.

Also, architectural style can influence the materials and design used for a new walkway or driveway, he added.

That's one reason why Owens and Ripley recommend getting input from a reputable landscape designer at the outset of landscaping projects.

"The most intelligent way to do landscaping is to have a plan," Ripley says.

Professional input helps homeowners avoid common mistakes, such as buying plants that are too small in scale or don't offer a seasonal mix of color, and advice doesn't necessarily need to cost a lot, Owens says.

Some landscapers charge a few hundred dollars for an initial consultation, while many garden centers provide advice for free if you buy the plants there.

Put on a new coat

A quick way to freshen the look of a house without painting the whole thing is to paint the trim, Owen says.

"Often, changing the trim color can have a huge impact," he says.

When choosing exterior colors, consider warm neutrals, such as taupes, golds and soft mossy greens and be sure to choose colors that complement your house's roof color and brick color, Schiller said.

"A good starting point is to go to the Benjamin Moore store and look at their prepackaged samples of exterior colors," he said. The samples include complementary exterior, trim and accent colors and can spark ideas. Keeping the overall palette simple, to two to three colors, is usually best.

Sometimes just painting the front door or shutters can make an impact. Using a stronger accent color such as burgundy or black can help a door "pop" from the curb, Schiller said.

However, when it comes to garage doors, keep it neutral.

"They can be such a big expanse, and if they're not updated, don't accentuate it with a contrasting color. Go with the body color of the home," Owens says.

Go for the green

Attention to the basics -- cleaning up the yard, weeding and trimming overgrown bushes and trees -- will improve the look of a home and give the message that it is well-maintained.

"Buyers don't like trees that cut back light," Landau says.

For a more manicured look at a relatively low cost, put down fresh mulch in the beds and edge along beds and sidewalks.

If you move before you sell, hire a pro to maintain the lawn.

Also, consider laying down sod in patchy areas of the lawn. It's much more expensive than planting seed (roughly $500 per 1,000 square feet compared to $10 to $20 per 1,000 square feet for seed, according to Consumer Reports), but it provides a mature lawn much more quickly.

"I truly believe you can never go wrong with sod," Owens says.

Big pots of flowers by the door provide a burst of color and "bring the front of a home alive," Manfrendini says.

Shrubbery at the corners will soften the edges of a house and visually anchor a home, Ripley adds.

Impressive entrance

The walk to the front door should offer a sense of arrival, Owens says. Ideally, the door should be visible from the street, and if it isn't, adding an indicator, such as house numbers or an arbor gate, can help guide guests, he says.

Owens says he likes the approach to a home's front door to contain an element of discovery. Planting a bed with flowers or adding a piece of art can create visual interest.

Once at the front door, the entrance should be welcoming. Add character and charm with a fresh welcome mat, a bench or chair accented with a decorative pillow, or a new light fixture or door knocker.

"For a few hundred dollars, details can make a huge difference," Owens says.

Replacing old, pitted brass fixtures and door handles with nickel or oil rubbed bronze can instantly update an entrance, Schiller said. Just be sure not to mix finishes.

Pay attention to the tactile as well as the visual experience by fixing creaky stairs, doors that stick or doorbells that don't ring, Manfredini says.

Washing windows and opening blinds also are no-cost ways to make a house look more inviting.

"When the window blinds are drawn, it feels as if you're hiding something. You want to convey an open feeling," Owens says.

Sidewalks and driveways also should be clean of stains and in good repair. At $20 a can, concrete stain offers an inexpensive fix to freshen a driveway, Owens adds.

Let there be light

Potential buyers may drive by a house at night for a look; so keep exterior and interior lights on to convey a look of "lived-in warmth," says Don A. Nelson, president of Nelson & Son Building Inspections Ltd. in Northbrook and of the Great Lakes Chapter of the American Society of Home Inspectors.

Consider adding landscape lighting if you need it. Low-voltage landscape lighting or solar lights can be added around a walkway, near benches or along trees or flowerbeds to improve security and add visual interest for a few hundred dollars.

Details, details

Minor repairs such as failing to replace peeling paint, a broken screen or a missing light bulb can send signals to a home inspector that the owner may have deferred maintenance on bigger items as well.

"An inspector might think if the owner doesn't have enough pride to replace a light bulb there might be other issues too," says Gale Colvin, technical development director with the home inspection service AmeriSpec Inc. in Memphis.

"Curb appeal is like personal appearance," Nelson says. "Did you comb your hair or is it all awry? Is the shirt you put on wrinkled or is it pressed?"

Garbage cans should be hidden from view; toys and clutter, picked up. Walks should be clear of snow, and extra vehicles should be kept from the driveway. An easily overlooked detail is the mailbox. If it's rusty or loose, paint or repair it, Landau says.

If a walkway is sunken and beyond repair, pull it up and replace it, Schiller says. If a fence leans, fix it or pull it down, he adds. "People often say, 'That's going to cost me money. I don't want to fix it.' What they don't realize is that buyers are seeing the same things and are saying to themselves, 'That's going to cost me money. I don't want to buy it,'" Schiller said. "People want to move into houses that are fresh."