Top Three To-do's for Your Mailbox (when selling your house)
Updated: Apr 12, 2018
So you say that a mailbox is a separate yet necessary part of your property and has no bearing on your selling of your house? You would be sort of right. It IS detached, normally, from your home and the actual insides of the traditional box actually belong to the US government. But as you drive along your neighborhood's streets, you may notice lots of decor on and around each mailbox, like college or pro sports loyalty flags, fake ivy, and vinyl floral or seasonal wraps, and even local pizza or fast food menus taped on the outside. As far as the red flag to let your postal worker know that you have mail to send, it is often faded to pink or has been rusted off for years, and the box's open/close flap is either bent or torn off. In my neighborhood, we even have a John Deere tractor-shaped box!
Individuality? Yep! When selling your home? Well, your box needs to be in tip-top shape, and here are three things to do so that your yard photos online and also your home's first impression in person is just right:
1. Replace or repair and repaint your mailbox, making sure that your address or house number shows easily. Use a ruler to help place new letters or numbers if using adhesive styles. Is the support post straight and holding tight in the ground?
2. Clear out last season's growth, mulch, and use some easy flowering plants, even in a pot, at the base of, and around, the post. Make it pretty, but be sure you are able to maintain the plantings while your house is for sale.
3. Keep your mailbox NEUTRAL, packing up your college flags, your seasonal wraps, and other personal items for your next home. Be sure it stays wiped down (pollen) and doing a stand-up job for you! Like the shutters I talk about in another blog, these pieces come together to seal that first impression that a buyer makes about your home before ever stepping inside the front door.
*For your viewing pleasure, I risked life and limb taking photos of mailboxes around my area. Some are screaming for help, some are beyond repair, and some don't match the house they represent...enjoy.