Anyone planning to sell their home faces numerous decisions. Not only do you need to pick a real estate agent and determine an appropriate listing price, but you’ll need to decide whether you should conduct any repairs and home improvements to increase sales appeal and value. While you will undoubtedly want to fix any obvious damages, many homeowners are torn about whether they need to repaint the home’s exterior. A fresh coat of exterior paint will certainly enhance the curb appeal, but will it justify the expense?

The answer to this question depends on your home’s exterior condition, local real estate market factors, and your budget. With decades of exterior painting experience in the Naples, Florida, area, the professionals at FCI Painting have repainted hundreds of homes before their owners put them on the market. We know the pros and cons of pre-sale painting and the factors homeowners should assess to determine whether to repaint. Let’s examine these factors closer to decide whether or not you should repaint your southwest Florida home before putting it on the market.

Distinct Advantages of Repainting the Exterior

When considering the advantages of repainting the exterior of your home before selling it, start with the obvious: the worse the condition of your exterior paint, the more you are likely to benefit from a new paint job. If your home’s exterior paint is over seven years old, it undoubtedly looks weathered and is starting to chip, peel, and flake. Given our climate and propensity for strong storms, your exterior paint may even be an eyesore if it’s 10 to 15 years old. Oh, and if you never liked the original color of your house but never got around to repainting it, that might be another sign that it could benefit from a new paint job.

No matter what the condition or color of your home, repainting it before bringing it to market can provide the following advantages:

• Enhanced curb appeal—as the first thing potential buyers will notice, a fresh coat of exterior paint helps make the home look well-maintained, clean, and up to date, creating a positive first impression on potential buyers.
• Provides cover on other imperfections— a repainted home’s clean, fresh look can help obscure other exterior imperfections.
• Return on investment (ROI)—According to real estate agent networking company Homelight, repainting a home exterior for curb appeal provides an average 119% ROI in the southeast.
• Increased perceived value— that fresh coat of exterior paint can help boost the home’s perceived value in the minds of potential buyers.
• Highlight unique architectural features—when repainting, you can use contrasting colors on trim and accent walls to make any unique features stand out to impress buyers.
• Instill buyer confidence—when buyers see the freshly painted exterior, it helps instill a sense of confidence that the home has been well maintained.
• Competitive advantage—the other benefits of a repainted home add up to give you a competitive advantage over non-repainted properties in your listing area.

Signs You Need to Paint the Exterior

If your home has been repainted in the past five years, you might only need pressure washing to boost curb appeal like a new paint job. No matter what the exterior paint age, assess its need for repainting before introducing it to the real estate market by conducting a visual inspection of all surfaces and note the appearance of the following:

• Fading—our abundant sunshine takes a toll on exterior paint, as evidenced by fading. Compare exposed exterior surfaces to those protected from the sun’s rays. If there is a significant difference, it’s probably time for a repaint.
• Flaking and peeling—minor flaking and/or peeling here and there might not be a problem, but the more widespread it is, the more it will reduce your home’s curb appeal.
• Cracks, gaps, and wood rot—if caulking around the house is cracking and causing gaps between siding and trim, or if there are obvious signs of wood rot or other surface cracks, you should probably replace the damaged materials and consider a fresh coat of paint.
• Mold, mildew, or other water damage—you can address moderate signs of mold, mildew, and other water damage with cleaning. However, if the problem is widespread and has obviously penetrated exterior wall surfaces, you should probably repaint them.

Naples, FL FCI Painting Delivers More than Just a Great Paint Job

With more than 25 years of exterior painting experience in southwest Florida, FCI painting can help you boost the curb appeal of your home before listing it for sale. For a professional assessment and more details about our exterior painting work for thousands of Naples, Florida-area homeowners, contact FCI Painting online or call us at (239) 435-1001.