This home appears to have a sizable lot with plenty of potential. If the homeowner were replacing the roof, I'd suggest replacing this one with a steeper roof with gable ends and a third gable -- a forward facing gable over a larger front porch in front of the house. If the interior of the house and the land on which it is located and the neighborhood in which it is located and the selling price are all to your liking, don't be discouraged by purely curb appeal cosmetic issues. Before buying this house, however, you should have an expert that is working for you inspect the house to help you avoid costly surprises. You should know before you buy what work needs to be done -- roofing, insulation, electrical, plumbing, heat/ac, moisture issues, etc., just to make the home livable. You should also find out about easements, underground utilities or building code limitations that could affect your efforts to effect necessary and/or desirable changes. For instance, if the home needs a complete redo of a bath or kitchen, you should factor that into the pricing of the home. With that low roof -- not even the usual 4/12 -- and high windows, it is likely there is little overhead insulation. It wouldn't surprise me to find out the roof rafters are also the ceiling joists. There's also likely little ventilation in what passes for an attic, which could mean moisture/sweating problems -- which could explain the trees being planted so close to the house in an effort to create much needed shade. If so, the cost of a new roof should be factored in as you consider the price and you budget. From the front, the lot appears sloped toward the driveway. You should pay attention to potential rainwater drainage issues on the left side of the house and the potential for dampness and/or mold/mildew issues beneath the floor.

This suggestion is a little outside the box, but hopefully will sparks some more ideas for you. In my old neighborhood, there were homes called "side splits" where an entry next to the garage lead to a foyer type situation and you walked up a few steps to the side to enter the main living space. I'm thinking this may be a solution for you, especially living in NY you might appreciate a main entrance that doesn't just dump you right into the living room. An awning above the new front door on the driveway level helps define the entrance.

That's what we want to see ... things that need changing. In terms of developing the house facade presentation, what is more important to you, your family and guests ... that the house, and especially the entrance, look welcoming ... or that when packages are delivered, there happens to already exist a way to screen them using otherwise ill-placed foliage? "Would love to change that front stoop area. Is this a design job for an architect or a landscape designer?" What kind of change are you talking about? All I can see that it's screaming for is a corner post or column to replace the planter, and for all the shrubs to go away. The walk, which could be wider, needs to extend the full wide of the porch. So far, these things are a job for a handyman. There's are significant portions, the left and right of the yard that don't show up in the first picture. Could you add them? To take them, stand at the same place the first pic was taken so they will all fit together in the end.

Looks like the current windows are replacement windows because of the size of the frames. You could do a more traditional window, called a Chicago window to replace the bow. (Bow windows are not ones I personally like.) A Chicago window, one with a fixed pane center and two outer windows with operable sashes, is see in the lower right on this house. If you are replacing the other windows, I like the style of grids only on the top part of the window like this house has. Also, I would open up the ceiling of the portico. Right now it looks squat.