Fresh paint can be drawcard

A better street view could attract a buyer or tenant. Photo / Supplied

Making over the exterior when renting or selling a home can determine whether a potential buyer or tenant drives by never to return or stops to look further.

Jane Eyles-Bennett of Hotspace Consultants says you don't need to spend a lot to create a great impression - a few tweaks can make all the difference. Often, it takes only $2000-$3000.

Stand on the street and look at the property as if seeing it for the first time, appraising the main body of the house, its base, window frames, roof, garden, fence, driveway and letterbox, and decide which need upgrading.

"You will usually find, when you study your property from an unemotional perspective, you won't need to fork out quite the sum you expected."

You may not need to paint the whole house - you can often make just as much difference by painting only the window sills or the base.

Eyles-Bennett recommends "anchoring" the house by painting the base a darker shade than the main house if it is a different material.

Stay with neutral colours - leave a blank canvas for buyers, she says.

If the garden looks busy, remove some plants. Water-blasting driveways and decks helps give a crisp, clean effect. If re-painting decking, do not pick too light or dark a colour or dirt will show.