People buy or rent houses, mentally, before they ever set foot inside. Many buying and renting decisions are made in the car going 20 MPH as prospective customers drive through the neighborhood for a quick peek! These drive-bys or quick- peeks are where you’ll make a sale or lose it. If your property doesn’t show well on the outside, most folks will simply assume it looks about the same way on the inside! This is why I always advise students to concentrate their efforts on fixing up the out­side before they start on the inside. The only exception I’ll make is when it’s raining!

Exterior painting is one of the most produc­tive jobs on the fix-up list. It’s not unusual to spend $100 painting and get back $10,000 or more in added sale profits. You’re accom­plishing high leverage fix-up when you can spend one dollar – and get ten dollars back!