Kerb appeal

The short answer

The first photograph in a listing is usually the exterior, and it decides whether a buyer scrolls on. Cleaning the frontage, painting or repairing the front door, clearing the path and gutters, and tidying bins and planting are inexpensive and immediate. In a tenement, the stair and common entrance carry the same weight and need agreement with neighbours rather than unilateral work.

What the work involves

Washing down the frontage and door, clearing gutters and gullies, repairing or repainting the door and railings, cutting back planting, and hiding bins.

Rules and responsibilities in Scotland

Conservation area and listed building rules restrict changes to front doors, windows, railings and paint colour in much of central Edinburgh. Common stair and entrance work is decided collectively under the title deeds or the Tenements (Scotland) Act.

What commonly goes wrong

Painting a listed or conservation-area front door a non-approved colour, and photographing a frontage with bins in shot.

What it usually costs

Indicative ranges only, to help you judge a quote. They are not an estimate for your property — only the business doing the work can give you that.

• A door repaint and new furniture is one of the cheapest visible improvements available.
• Gutter clearing is inexpensive and prevents the staining that makes a frontage look neglected.
• Stair painting is a shared tenement cost and needs agreement, so start the conversation early.

What to do, in order

1. 1Wash down the door, frame, sills and any render or stonework staining.
2. 2Repair or repaint the door and renew tired ironmongery.
3. 3Clear gutters, downpipes and gullies so there is no staining.
4. 4Cut back planting from the path and move bins out of shot.
5. 5For a tenement, raise stair cleaning or painting with neighbours before marketing.

Local detail for the Lothians

• Front doors, railings and windows across the New Town, Old Town, Marchmont and other conservation areas are subject to controls on colour and material.
• A clean, well-lit common stair changes the impression of an Edinburgh flat more than anything inside it.
• Stone staining from blocked rainwater goods is common on city frontages and is fixable before photographs.

When you need a professional

A joiner for door repair, a painter for railings and stair work, and the council's planning service for consent questions in conservation areas.

Common questions

What is the cheapest improvement to the outside?

Cleaning the frontage and repainting the front door, with the gutters cleared so there is no staining below them.

Does the tenement stair matter to buyers?

Considerably. It is the first thing a viewer walks through, and a poorly kept stair suggests the block is not well managed.

Related pages

• Shared repairs before selling

  Outstanding common repairs, statutory notices and how they affect a flat sale.

• The garden and outside space

  Making outside space read as usable, without spending on landscaping.

• Photography day

  The final hours before the camera and the Home Report surveyor arrive.