BEAUTY is in the eye of the beholder – but not when it comes to buying houses it seems.

New research from Barclays Mortgages suggests buyers have definite ideas about the outside appearance of a property and 44% would demand a discount of up to 20% if it had poor “kerb appeal”.

Based on average UK house prices, this could mean as much as £57,600 being knocked off a property’s asking price.

With so much of a home’s value depending on its external appearance, Lucy Alexander, star of the BBC’s Homes Under The Hammer and spokeswoman for the Barclays Mortgages Kerb Appeal campaign, offers some tips on sprucing up a property this spring, whether your budget is big or small.

“From experience, it’s always best to keep things simple. The cleaner a property looks from the exterior, the more people will want to look at its interior,” she said.

“If your home has overgrowing weeds, rubbish laying on the road or an unappealing-looking front door, a buyer isn’t likely to want to enter.

“You have to put yourself inside their minds, as if you’re seeing the property for the first time.”

The influence is the outside of a property on people’s buying decisions is huge.

“It’s the first thing you see, so your senses are hyperactive when looking at the outside of a property for the first time.

“If you’re going to live somewhere, you have to feel comfortable with the outside before you even start visualising whether the house fits your needs.”

And if you had a limited budget to do up the outside of a property that was scruffy to make it appeal more to buyers, what would you do?

“Give it a good clean and tidy! It’s fine having slightly old windows and not having the most expensive plant pots, as long as it looks neat. This way, it may not stand out and give that wow factor, but it will look like a blank canvas that a new buyer can put their own stamp on.”

If you had a bigger budget, say £10,000, windows and doors are key, according to Lucy.

“I would buy a brand new front door. New research from Barclays Mortgages said how buyers value a simple and classic front door. Then I’d go for new windows, they can give a house such a facelift and make everything look that much better. If there’s a little money left, I’d invest in some brand new potted plants to add some colour and detail.

“You can always spend too much money. The main thing I’d advise is to take your time with it. Walk up your street and look at your house as if you hadn’t seen it before. Ask yourself, what needs to change? It might be as easy as cutting the grass and edging it, which costs no money at all.

“Spending time and making good will always be my choice over buying good.”