I would keep looking. Too much wrong & no easy fixes.

To Quote This Old House" Take a Stinger Missile to it."

Is it dark inside? There aren't many windows.

Yes it is darker inside.

Depends on what your budget would be...

So that house is a poorly designed raised ranch in need of more windows and maybe it would be better if the staircase was placed on the outside of the house instead of the inside stealing space for living. It's going to cost $$$ to fix the issues so only you can decide.

I'd change the garage door, whitewash the brick, and trim down or remove the plants.

Beverly, thanks for your suggestions. The staircase isn’t feasible for this house. The steps are actually in the middle of the house. There is a long hallway that leads to the front door. What kind of money do you think it would take?

To ponder...What would you like for it to look like on the outside? What is it about the inside that is so appealing? Where would you add windows?

Center the door and go with all siding or all brick. Not sure if anyone can answer what kind of money it would take. This depends upon where you live and exactly what you want done. I could not drive up to that everyday either..Best Wishes!

It’s not necessarily that the inside is so great (it is nice though). The location is more of what we are after. My husband loves a more modern look. I love character. As long as the character is there, I’m ok with most styles, though I do love craftsman and farmhouse.

This post has given me a little more hope that something can be done.

It looks like it was designed by the owner who prioritized certain things inside, perhaps a floor plan or a view. Moving the front door and adding windows would be options that you could talk over with a contractor. But if you hate it and don't see yourself driving up to it every day, keep looking.

The house could be cute but the garage would have to be gone. The door & window need to be centered, windows added. Adding windows involves ripping down to the studs to add headers & then dealing with the siding. Centering the door & window above (if even possible dependent on interior layout & stairways) means that the brick (almost surely) has to go & be replaced.

Doesn't appear that there is room on the lot to build a garage or surely not a 2 car garage (a single garage kills it for me.) The uncentered door kills it for me. And all that short space above the garage door (where it looks like any room up there has a ceiling height sized for midgets) kills it for me.

At a minimum, the siding color is kinda' sick & the garage door appears approaching needing to be replaced.

And, I never like the idea of living space above a garage. The obvious of possible carbon monoxide invading the living space. Can't really do 'smelly' projects in the garage for the same reason. Along with the storage of things like paint thinners, gas for the lawnmower...i.e., all of the sort of things that you would never think of storing inside the home.

If any of the above tick your boxes, then rest assured that the fixes are going to be quite costly.

How about a pergola above the garage door all the way across to over the front door. This would help hide the offset front door and give some interest to the area above the garage door.

This isn't exactly what I was thinking but you get the idea. Or the roof type that is at a 45 degree angle could also do to fill in blank space on your house.

Move on and keep looking. It looks like a bunker. There is nothing that makes economic sense that you can do to fix this terrible design. If an architect was involved with designing that near-windowless box, he should lose his license. I guarantee you'd hate it for as long as you lived in it.

There is a reason this house is still looking for a buyer. Unless this is virtually the only house available in your desired location or the price tag is much cheaper, like 25%, than comparable sized houses, just keep looking. You will end up hating the house because it will suck up your time, effort and money and you will never be able to make it the house you want

Oh, Celerygirl!!! That is what I was looking for. I love these mockups. Thank you so so so much.

Steph- Before you fall in love with the mockups, get a reality check from a contractor about the cost to cosmetically modify the house, and assess whether such improvements are enough to make a house with few windows attractive to a future buyer. Sorry to be so negative, but a bargain isn't a bargain if it has irremediable defects.

I'm not sure if this would be feasible as I am not sure what is on the inside of the home but where the brick is, could you remove this entire facade and make this whole section windows. It would look great to have modern windows in this space. It would allow a lot of light in and if you immediately walk in to a staircase, this is a way to highlight this structure especially if you plan on modernizing the interior.

Do you LIKE the interior as is (other than paint) or is it going to require a lot of work and money for you to like it. Is the "dark" interior just the paint color or are there so few windows and sunlight entering that it has a cave vibe?

Is the price really good?

Have you had it inspected for problems by an inspector that is working for YOU?

Is the home's orientation to the sun -- light entering the home -- and windows on the back and sides to your liking?

If you've considered and addressed all the above and the only serious problem that remains is the "curb appeal", then changing the front door and the garage door and exterior color as suggested by celerygirl would be the way to go on a limited budget.

I'd also remove that tree (after you remove your holiday decorations from it (planted too close to the house for the roots to not be a problem eventually) and remove all the rest of the plantings there. Then, as long as there are no utilities buried beneath that space and building codes permit, I'd level an area all the way to the corner of the house and about ten feet out from the house and create a front yard patio, creating a short retaining wall all around it and plant new plants for a privacy hedge all around the outside that retaining wall.

https://www.blinkmargate.org/front-patio-ideas-decorating/front-patio-ideas-pictures/

The retaining wall on the left (higher) side and front could be created to double as seating for the patio.

https://www.homedit.com/retaining-wall/retaining-wall-and-bench-seating/

You might also consider an arbor attached to the home over the garage door and entry door.

You might also consider whether or not you'd want a arbor with a patio or if you'd want a porch rather than just a patio.

Is there any place in the back yard for outdoor entertaining -- deck or porch or place for a patio?

Oh dear. This house needs a major front elevation facelift. And not just a siding colour change and new front door and garage door. If you have a healthy budget and an architect you can change it to something special. This is more than a lipstick fix I'm afraid.

I asked about your budget because there are definitely changes you can make to make this house work (ie Amber's idea to make the whole middle entry section windows and door). However, if you don't have some pretty serious money to dump into exterior updates then any suggestions we make besides a paint job and some landscaping updates may not be in the cards.

Guys, I just wanted some ideas. We don’t have a budget because we don’t even know if we are buying the house yet. I love seeing what the possibilities are. I realize there are many factors that could inhibit our progress, but that will be between us and our contractors.

Thank you for all your design ideas. If you have other constructive suggestions, I am ready to hear them.

Are there more windows on the sides and in the back? I personally would worry more about that, as you’ll be spending much more time in the house than driving up to it.

Even with just the garage door, front door and landscaping, big improvement.