Remove both large trees & the bushes in front of porch. Add large urns filled with colorful flowers on both sides of front door & treat your lawn to make it green & lush. If financially possible, add something to the blank wall above front door - a decorative piece, a window or a pergola over porch. Good luck to you,

If possible enlarge the second floor windows and add a front porch roof. The Wall Street Journal just reported that good curb appeal elevates the sale price by 7%.

Don't be removing any tress. They are fine

I toned down the white around your entrance doors. The contrast seemed too great

I like CAD'S idea about adding pots at the entrance. Maybe on either side of the top platform.

Also, I can't see the actual shape of your post lights, but perhaps a rectangular post light would complement the architecture of your home.

The center of the second floor needs something. Since you are ready to place your house on the market, it’s safe to say that you are interested in a quick fix?
How about some sort of an iron or aluminum decorative grate...large, to fill the space? Or go to Fypon products and see if there is a decorative application to apply to the siding, like a faux window. Another idea: have an electrician add a box to the soffit to add a hanging pendant lamp in the space above the door.

Thanks, everybody! The house was hit by a tornado last year and we lost 27 trees. We’re down to the two in the front and five out back, so we tried to save what we could. We’ve had it on the market for six months and have only had four showings, so we’re just hoping to figure out a way to attract people to see it. We’ve also done open houses that had great turnouts, but nothing came of them. I’m really liking the ideas of a gabled roof above the porch and planters on either side. The poles are round out front. I’ll definitely look into switching those out too! I know the windows upstairs are tiny, but I’m a little scared of the work involved to enlarge them.

Geez don't be adding a gable to this contemporary styled home.

You need some feedback from the viewer as to why they have not made an offer before you tie yourself in knots trying to guess. There is no way for us to know if you are priced right for your area.

This layout doesn't look quite right from this direction

Can you give an example of something that would work with the style of our house, then? The feedback has mostly been that people don’t want a master bedroom upstairs.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3231-Cliff-Dr-Fort-Smith-AR-72903/74542546_zpid/

Your price seems to be in line with what Zillow recommends. Maybe people are just concerned that the property was hit by a tornado. That could be a deal breaker for many.

The property needs trees. Insurance didn't come up with the $$ for replacing the ones you lost? That could be an unknown cost that potential buyers are anticipating will be a larger number.

Yeah the dining room is on the side. The front windows are the living room and the game room.

Well, you can’t move the master bedroom. Since your question related to curb appeal, a couple of simple changes may help. The most glaring issue to my eye is the white trim around the front door. As Beverly suggested, consider painting it a color to recede into the brick. Colorful pots by the front door. And price it to sell. Good luck in 2020, and no tornadoes.

You asked about curb appeal. Remove the two trees. They are not an asset and they won't grow back into magnificent trees with sturdy branches. Paint the white trim around the front door beige like the house siding.

You didn't ask about why it isn't getting offers, but the feedback you have gotten is about the lack of a ground floor master bedroom. Try taking another look at the billiard room with the fireplace, what used to be the living room. Could that be marketed as a bedroom with the nearest bathroom having a shower? If so, take the billiard table out and put a queen size bed in. You can use an airbed with luxury quality bedding or move your own master bedroom furniture downstairs.

Can you post a link for the listing?

I also suggest removing the trees out front - too visible a reminder of the tornado. You don't want that to enter people's minds.

Irma took out our huge, ancient tamarind trees, as well as dozens of other big trees. The best thing is to remove them so the remains aren't a constant reminder of the disaster.

The link is posted

I am somehow missing it. I wondered how there was a picture of the DR.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3231-Cliff-Dr-Fort-Smith-AR-72903/74542546_zpid/

The only bath downstairs that we have is a half bath. It technically has a shower, but the previous owners moved the water heater into it.

I just posted the link. Can you see it? It should be on the comment right above this. If you look up 3231 Cliff Dr, Fort Smith, AR, you should be able to find it. I don’t know why the link won’t post.

If curb-appeal is what's preventing your sale, I'd say your patchwork lawn is a bigger problem than your house exterior.

But if the real problem is layout, I'd get a draftsman to do up a mainfloor reno plan for you to demonstrate to buyers how easy it would be to reno for their desires. And then I'd drop the price accordingly.

Yeah. The lawn is definitely not good. We only put sod where there wasn’t any grass after the tornado, which was clearly a mistake. I guess we thought it would look the same in the end, but it didn’t.

I would remove the lamp posts and the planing area near them. Maybe one lamp post could be placed further off to the side. Doesn't code enforcement require a handrail on the front steps? If not, I think one should be added, maybe one that fans out on both sides

Not just like these, but along the same idea.

following

My husband photoshopped this a little earlier. What do you guys think? This is what we originally had in mind. I know the lawn isn’t great, but I feel like people will be willing to fix that, whereas this is harder to envision. I will definitely talk to our realtor about changing the wording on the listing.

I rlly like it but I just have one question about it, would it have the same coloured shingles as the roof or I can rlly see it as dark blue. Also there’s no upper windows that go down all the way, is the a lot of light? You could add lanterns to the top thing to.

Sorry but the trees are awful. My first thought was “those need to come down” and buyers are probably thinking the same.

I think the top would have the same shingles, and then maybe the shed roof or whatever it’s called would be black? We’re going to get some quotes on removing the trees too. Do you think we should also plant new trees? I’m a little scared of how much all of it would cost.

Any "fix" you apply to the facade will not be recouped in the sale price. Construction is not cheap.

@Lala makes an excellent point about getting rid of the red wall in the bedroom. Red has a lot of personality-- not something desirable if you're trying to picture someone else's space as your own. Paint is cheap and will make prospective buyers more comfortable. Choose something quiet.

And the point about the school ratings is pertinent. It doesn't matter how pretty your house is if my kids won't be getting what they need.

If you're scared about how much all this might cost, prospective buyers are thinking exactly the same thing!

You will not recoup construction costs. Cut down the trees and price it right.

I would like to see the center 2nd story blank area re-sided in a darker tan color, repaint the bright white around the doors to the same darker color, accent color for the front door. take out the broken trees they will never look "right" add some new trees to the yard, and change the little post lights to regular lights at the sides of the door or if you can find a much more copmtemporary post light then use them, but them seem too little and the wrong style.

Can you paint the siding or is it vinyl? I’d recommend painting the top half between the windows and the outer sides a muted navy or grey blue, leave the bump outs with the windows the cream/tan and paint the trim around the door the same cream/tan to reduce the contrast. This will add interest and depth to the house for little money.

The trim around the doors and the trim around the windows are actually all the same color - white. Our soffits and vents are white too. It’s vinyl siding, as well. I like the idea of navy accents. Or maybe brown, but I’d love some color.

Ok, get those trees down and stumped. Paint the beige second story a rich warm gray and get 2 tall plants (rich green conical shaped) potted plants for the entry. Splurge on lots of appropriate plants with color grouped on the entry steps to welcome folks. Buyers make up there mind subconsciously within 45 seconds of seeing a house and the rest of the showing they are trying to reinforce their first impression. Make it as good as possible and price it where it should be not where you want it to be. It will sell!

Your home is lovely but lots of personality in the decor.

I would repaint the red/dark gray bedroom wall to a pale gray, remove the name "Jack" from above the bed, and remove the toy display. Replace the kiddie shower curtain with a neutral adult one, and remove the orange and green accents. Same with the rust/orange walls in dining room. And the family names on the billiard room wall.

People are trying to imagine themselves living in your house, and anything with personality interrupts that difficult mental process. For example, imagine a family touring the house, and the older teens see their future bathroom with kiddie shower curtain and make negative remarks. That kind of thing is small but starts negative thoughts. Maybe they have all girls - who wants Jack's red and dark gray room? Or Mom and Dad have to say 'Well, no honey, we can repaint it. Can you imagine it all pink?"

The houses for sale in my neighborhood are so depersonalized that they're actually a bit weird and pretty boring to look at online or tour. Sometimes we peek in the closet to see if real humans are actually still living there! They're the houses that sell. Some of them have so much gray that they look a bit like black and white pictures. But it lets people imagination run free while they view it, to imagine their families in there.

That can be done fairly inexpensively, and is something that your real estate agent should have told you before you even put your house on the market.

I agree, the stubbed trees must go. Can you invest in some dwarf ornamental trees to add to the landscaping closer to the house so it doesn't look so bare? Sharum's probably has something you can put in this spring. I would completely remove the gas lights and plant the small scale trees right and left of the steps. Japanese maples would add some interesting color in front of the bricks and would stay on the smaller side. If you can afford it, consider sodding the lawn or having a lawn care company come and get it in shape this spring. Check with Earl's Turf Masters based in Arkoma. I think they'll do a good job for you. Other than landscaping, I think a pergola across the center section above the door and porch, possibly extending all the way to the windows on each side, would add a lot. To replace the gas lights, I think a pair of large lantern lights either side of the door would add some wow factor. The "street view" posted online is pre-storm and we can see how many trees you lost.

Hi again. I posted earlier about adding something in the second floor area above your front door. I LOVE what your husband photoshopped over the door- the pediment with nice trim and small window near the peak! What a difference it makes! Plus it should not be very expensive nor take much time.

Thanks, everyone! I think we’ve figured out exactly what we want to do. You guys have been so helpful!! A lot of the changes will be fairly easy and inexpensive, so that’s a relief. I really appreciate all of your input.

House has potential.

Paint that white framed sun room on the right the same color as the upstairs siding of the house -- the different color makes it more of a focal point ... not something you want -- let your front entry door be that.

IF you were going to live in it, I'd suggest you consider adding a front porch or at least a portico; however, a buyer might to make that decision so

Instead of adding an actual roof with posts, you might consider just adding the look of a roof -- the look of a forward facing gable-- by creating what amounts to a soffit/overhang -- faux porch gable against the center of the upstairs of the house -- perhaps a bit wider than your pic your husband photo shopped. There is a faux roof on the right side of the upstairs of this house:

https://i2.wp.com/www.roofingcalc.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/fiber-cement-siding.jpg?ssl=1

Landscaping:

IF your budget doesn't include removing the stump, then consider not cutting the trees or only cut the tallest most odd shaped one and then paint the top of it black and set a large flower pot or something else atop it. If you can remove the bark and paint the trunk/stump sides, too, that would be even better.

Would focus primarily on creating a really great healthy green lawn.

Just reviewed the listing- you have a beautiful home!! I just LOVE your kitchen. Someone above posted a mock up of adding some moulding above the front door - I liked that - gave some detail and the house doesn’t look so bare in the middle, but it’s a less expensive change than adding a window or balcony there.

I agree with a previous comment who said you should push your realtor to get REAL feedback from showings. I see a few super minor things that are more staging related, that really shouldn’t impact a sale- but buyers can be so finicky and don’t always see the various uses of a room unless you show them.

Overall- your home is gorgeous and the colors and decor are all wonderful!

Did anyone suggest painting the front door, remove the lamp post, (power can be used for landscape lighting.) add two pots and be done.

Now I will say I think the landscape could use help but again investment on return.......

Paint the door white; add some pots of flowers on the ground under the windows on either side. It will add some colour and scenery.

Good luck selling your house with the new updates OP!!