| Home sellers find that exterior detailing, including | | | | ***Paint your front door (Cracked and peeling paint |
| copper weather vanes, copper planters, and Brass | | | | on a front door signals to a potential buyer that the |
| doorknockers provide eye-catching curb appeal that | | | | house has not been well maintained.) |
| draws potential buyers. Copper weathervanes and | | | | Changing the color of your front door is also an easy |
| other exterior details also add a touch of welcoming | | | | way to draw attention to your house, which is helpful |
| elegance and a perception of added value that can | | | | when the For Sale sign goes up. |
| help keep sale prices high. | | | | ***Add a brass doorknocker ("A door knocker adds |
| Even in a seller's market, it's important that any | | | | old-world warmth and charm to an entry," observes |
| for-sale home stand out from other choices on a | | | | Cazeault. "Brass door knockers can be a real |
| buyer's list. "A buyer may visit several realtors and | | | | conversation piece. The hardest part for most people |
| look at up to two-dozen properties in one day," | | | | is deciding which knocker to choose... In most cases |
| explains businessman Russell Cazeault. "That means | | | | they are torn between two or three different styles. |
| it's critical to make a good and lasting impression. | | | | ***Substitute copper rain chains for old downspouts |
| Exterior detailing like copper weathervanes, copper | | | | ("Copper rain chains channel water from the gutter |
| wind chimes and copper planters are an affordable | | | | to the ground, but they're much more attractive than |
| way for home owners to say 'Welcome home' to | | | | a downspout," "They can drain into a basin, a rock |
| prospective buyers." | | | | garden, or directly into the ground |
| Cazeault has been helping homes makes a good | | | | ***Replace old house numbers with a new colorful |
| impression for 18 years. He is president of the Cape | | | | address plaque. ("Nothing 'dates' a home more than |
| Cod Weathervane Company which offers a vast | | | | shabby numbers that have lost their sheen," explains |
| selection of decorative copper details and cooper | | | | Cazeault.) |
| accents for home exteriors. "Our traditional Cape Cod | | | | ***Replace aging light fixtures with a copper lantern |
| copper weathervanes are hand-crafted by master | | | | or brass onion lamp. |
| artisans with unsurpassed quality and attention to | | | | ("The inexpensive plastic fixtures that the builder let |
| detail," says Cazeault with pride. | | | | you have for a song may be functional, but they do |
| The company also offers a line of nautical | | | | little to enhance your homes appearance," observes |
| weathervanes and has recently added Cape Cod | | | | Cazeault. "A modest investment in a new brass light |
| Address Plaques to its product line. Copper weather | | | | fixture can make a big difference in how your home |
| vanes, brass door knockers, and cast aluminum | | | | is perceived) |
| address plaques are "functional as well as artful," says | | | | ***Add a cupola (The cupola experts at the Cape |
| Cazeault. 'This makes them an addition to the value | | | | Cod Weathervane Company recommend that a |
| of any home. | | | | cupola be 1 - 1 ½" wide for every foot of roof |
| Command High Prices With 10 Low-Cost Fixes | | | | line) |
| Cazeault admits that copper weathervanes may not | | | | ***Top it off with a copper weathervane. ("Standing |
| immediately spring to mind as an incentive for buyers. | | | | high above your house silhouetted by the sky, an |
| In fact, when it comes time to ready a home for | | | | elegant copper weathervane adds timeless grace and |
| sale, most owners grab their ladders and paint | | | | gives your home that New England feel," |
| brushes, purchase lumber and tools, and make plans | | | | ***Consider outdoor art. Use barn stars or wall art to |
| to do a little fixing up. Before long, "they've spent all | | | | enhance large empty windowless walls on the back |
| their evenings and weekends and all their money | | | | of a home, garage or shed.) |
| making interior changes that may never be seen | | | | ***Use copper urns and copper planters. (For the |
| because the exterior wasn't inviting," explains | | | | horticulturally challenged, try arrangements of silk and |
| Cazeault. | | | | plastic flowers) |
| According to Cazeault, the best way to 'grab | | | | Easy To Mine Copper |
| eyeballs' is with his Top Ten Quick Fixes To Improve | | | | Cazeault notes that consumers no longer have to |
| Home Sale Prices. "These are things any homeowner | | | | chase down copper weathervanes and other exterior |
| can do that provides noticeable improvement. And | | | | detailing items at local home stores or go through the |
| each item takes no more than a few hours - many | | | | sometimes frustrating process of having items |
| less than an hour." | | | | delivered. "Online companies like The Cape Cod |
| ***Buy quality welcome mats for all entry doors | | | | Weathervane Company frequently stock a larger |
| (This makes an unmistakable psychological | | | | selection of truly unique decorative copper than most |
| impression.) | | | | brick-and-mortar stores," says Cazeault. |