 
          6                       May 1, 2015             Spring Home Improvement            LINCOLN DAILY NEWS.com
        
        
          C
        
        
          urb
        
        
          A
        
        
          ppeal:
        
        
          smiling for the picture?
        
        
          Is your home
        
        
          M
        
        
          any is the time that we hear
        
        
          someone say a house lacks curb
        
        
          appeal, or, that it has great curb appeal.
        
        
          But what does that really mean?  What is
        
        
          curb appeal?
        
        
          Simply put, it is the first impression that
        
        
          people get of your home from the street
        
        
          or as they pull in your driveway.  When a
        
        
          home is on the market, this is especially
        
        
          important, because what they see from
        
        
          the street will either invite them to look
        
        
          further, or repel them to a point that they
        
        
          dread seeing what is inside.
        
        
          Mitch Birky and Matt Eich of Bella
        
        
          Landscaping conducted a workshop
        
        
          during the annual Russel Allen Garden
        
        
          Day in Lincoln earlier this year. They
        
        
          spoke on curb appeal and offered the
        
        
          following information:
        
        
          • Positive curb appeal will increase the
        
        
          market value of a home by 17 percent
        
        
          or more.  It will likewise decrease the
        
        
          value of the home if curb appeal leaves a
        
        
          negative impression.
        
        
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