Pre-Listing Pressure Washing in New Bern: What It Does for Your Sale Price

If you're getting ready to list your house in New Bern, washing the outside is one of the cheapest things you can do before the photos get taken. It costs a few hundred dollars and it changes the first thing every buyer sees.

I've been washing houses in New Bern and Craven County for years, and I can tell you the pattern. The inside gets painted, staged, and deep cleaned. The outside gets forgotten until the photographer is pulling in the driveway. That's backwards, and here's why.

Buyers judge your house before they ever walk in

The National Association of Realtors has found that 63% of buyers will drive by a home in person after seeing it online. They sit in the street and look at it. That's the whole showing for a lot of people.

A Michigan State University study found homes with strong curb appeal sold for around 7% more than similar homes with tired-looking exteriors. I'm not going to promise you a number on your specific house. Nobody honest can. But I will tell you what I've seen: green siding and black streaks on the gutters make a well-kept house look neglected, and buyers price in "neglected" whether it's true or not.

They're not thinking "that needs washed." They're thinking "what else didn't they take care of?"

Why New Bern houses get dirty faster than most

We sit right where the Neuse and the Trent come together. That means humidity, and humidity means algae and mildew.

A few things stack up on us here:

The north side is always the worst. It gets the least sun and stays damp the longest. On most houses I wash, the north and shaded sides are green while the sunny sides still look fine. Owners genuinely don't realize it, because they pull into the driveway on the good side every day.

Salt air is hard on everything. The closer you are to the water, the faster your exterior picks up film.

Pollen season buries everything in the spring. If your listing photos get shot in April, that matters.

Gutters get tiger stripes. Those dark vertical streaks on the face of the gutter aren't mold. They're oxidation and road film, and they photograph badly.

What actually needs washed before a listing

This is the list I work through on a pre-listing job:

1. Siding, all four sides. Including the side that faces the neighbor's fence that nobody looks at. The inspector and the buyer both will.

2. Gutters, fascia, and soffits. This is the one most companies skip, and it's the one that shows in a straight-on photo of the front of the house.

3. Porch ceilings and columns. Every side of every column. Front porches are in the listing photos almost every time.

4. Driveway, walkway, and front steps. Concrete holds years of dirt and it's the first thing under the buyer's feet.

5. Fence and deck if you've got them.

The goal isn't a spotless house. The goal is a house that looks cared for.

Get it washed before the photos, not after

Timing trips people up. Here's the simple version.

Wash the house one to two weeks before the listing photos. That gives you a buffer if it rains, and it gives you time to spot anything the wash uncovers, like failed caulk or a section of rotted trim you want to fix before the photos.

Don't wash the day before. If the weather turns, you've got no room, and you end up shooting a wet house or a dirty one.

A good house wash around here holds up 12 to 18 months, so it'll still look right through your whole listing period and all the way to closing.

Soft washing, not blasting

Do not let anybody put high pressure on your vinyl siding.

Pressure forces water up behind the panels, and water behind the siding is a real problem that doesn't show up until later. The vinyl siding industry's own guidance says to spray straight at it at eye level and never angle the stream up under the laps.

The right way is soft washing. Low pressure, a mild cleaning solution, and enough dwell time to let the chemistry kill the algae and mildew instead of grinding it off. That's what we do, and it's why we soak your landscaping with clean water before, during, and after every side. Bleach is what kills the growth on the wall. Water is what protects your azaleas and camellias from it.

If somebody quotes you a house wash and never mentions your plants, that should tell you something.

If you're a realtor

Happy to work with you directly on this.

I've got a pre-listing exterior checklist you can hand to sellers, and I can turn around most house washes in Craven County within a few days of the call. You tell me the listing date, I'll make sure the exterior is done before the photographer shows up.

If that's useful to you, give me a call and let's talk about it.

Common questions

How long does it take?

Most single-story homes are a half day. Larger two-story homes can run most of a day.

Do I need to be home?

No. I just need access to an outdoor spigot and any gates unlocked. If you're not there, I'll text you when we arrive and when we're done.

Will it kill my plants?

Not the way we do it. Every bed gets soaked with clean water before we apply anything, re-wet if the side runs long, and flushed again after. Potted plants get moved out of range.

What about the tiger stripes on my gutters?

Those take a separate treatment because they're oxidation, not growth. All the mold and mildew comes off with a standard wash. If you want the streaks gone too, just ask and I'll price it out.

Should I do this if the house has been sitting on the market?

Yes, and it's usually the cheapest relist move you've got. New photos of a clean exterior can change how the listing reads to somebody who scrolled past it a month ago.

Getting a quote

Text me the address and I can usually give you a number the same day. If it's an unusual property or you want me to walk it with you, I'm happy to come out and look at it.

Michael Reynolds

Pro Wash Pressure Washing LLC

Veteran owned, New Bern, NC