(ARA) – With the housing market showing its first signs of improvement in years, many homeowners hope to attract interested buyers this spring. Replacing old or damaged exterior trim is a great way to freshen up your home today and make it stand out among others tomorrow.
After location and price, curb appeal is one of the top factors for choosing a home. Curb appeal sells 49 percent of all homes, according to the National Association of Realtors. In fact, even before putting your home on the market, your realtor often will recommend ways to make it look its very best from the street. The evaluation process starts as soon as buyers pull up.
“Exterior trim that is cracked, rotted, peeling or falling apart gives a bad first impression,” says Bob Merrill, president and CEO for Chicago-based CMI, which makes MiraTEC Treated Exterior Composite Trim. “Homes with beautiful exterior trim have that wow factor that attracts buyers. Making a good first impression can be the difference between getting a signed contract and keeping the ‘For Sale’ sign in the yard.”
Inspect your trim
Spring is an ideal time to inspect your home’s exterior trim. Walk around your house and look at the trim around your windows and doors, at the corners, and near the roofline. Warning signs of potential problems include peeling or blistering paint, green algae, warped boards, and spongy or soft spots. Check for termite damage too; they cause more damage to U.S. homes than fire, floods and storms combined.
If the trim is damaged beyond repair, the only solution is replacement. Depending on your carpentry skills, replacing exterior trim can be a do-it-yourself project, but it is often best to hire a local contractor or remodeler. One option that has become a preferred choice among homebuilders and remodelers is a treated exterior composite trim called MiraTEC. This engineered wood trim is ideal for nonstructural applications, such as roofline fascia, window and door trim, corner posts and porch trim.
Find the right trim
Although traditional wood trim often looks good when installed, it can split and swell, and is prone to knots and defects. Other materials, like PVC and fiber cement trim, may be difficult to install and also have performance limitations.
With a clear cedar, wood-grain texture on one side and a contemporary smooth finish on the other, MiraTEC trim is ideal for many home styles from historic to modern. It looks and handles like wood, and is coated with a mildew-resistant primer, making it easy to paint. MiraTEC is very durable and it resists moisture, rot and termites.
Before you put your house on the market, take a good look at your exterior trim. If it doesn’t look inviting at first glance, replacing it now could help make your home stand out on the block. To learn more, visit www.miratectrim.com.
