How important do you think curb side appeal is?

I don't worry about it too much when I am full, but when I am in the process of interviewing I wonder... I mean, I make sure the yard it tidy, flowers watered, weeds in the garden at least moderately under control lol But things like the hose not being in a perfectly nice coil or the gross spider webs/gnats explosion that is the light by the door - I swear I clean it but it gets ick fast.

Where do you put time in, when it comes to that first impression?

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What I can tell u is one day a while back I had people onnthere way to my house cause they needed daycare an wanted to check it out it sucked cause I had plans to take th e kids somewhere fun that day but let them come squeezed them in guess what waited a hour after they said they were on their way they didn't show up and it seems really weird because they were like all in 30 minutes away or I'm 15 minutes away so hour later I text them I qaited and hour even though I was in a hurry to take the kids somewhere I waited just in case they got lost or something its happens.so I text them and they text by an said they drove by and left what why? ! Why didnt they knock? I was kind of shocked that never happened to me before that somebody just drove by and drove off .guess what they said it looked kinda junky with all that stuff outside.one side of the yard that you can see from the street is gated off with no access to the children or anyone it has a few things that are like storage temporarily like a washer a dryer just a couple things at the landlord just replaced and needs to throw out the old one.the really nice yard on the other side of the house where the kids play in have all their toys you cannot see from the street it is blocked by the house.i text back and explain that those items have only been there a couple of days in the landlord is going to be removing them in a couple days and that the kids do not play over there it is gated off in their yard is on the other side which you cannot see and guess what they didn't respond back but whatever I didn't care those are the people you don't want around you are the kids anyway they're going to make a big deal about nothing

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I think it's very important. Same as the inside. And I'm like you, if I've got an interview scheduled I spruce it as best I can with what little time I have. Pick up toys, whatever looks untidy and take care of it all, make sure the lawn is mowed, sweep the sidewalk, things like that.
I have been trying to get my house pressure-washed for awhile now. My landscaper is so busy once the season starts. And my house has red streaks under all the shutters. Luckily I haven't had any new dcfs within that time-frame.
I painted my whole front door area last year and it looks like he!! again. I have cement stairs and a tiny landing outside, nothing I've done has kept the paint on.

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There is special paint for cement steps/landings, but you also have to prime them prior to painting; I learned how back in 2011 thanks to Lowes

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I wouldn't be concerned about things like color/ style of house. Stuff like is the yard mowed/ trimmed, area clean and are there any areas of disrepair would be something I see that could be an issue to parents.

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I'm glad I'm full right now because ours is bad! We are doing outside construction. Moving buildings, putting in drive ways, extending the deck. My yard literally had 2 huge pile of shale and a huge pile of gravel in it right now. We are fencing in the yard and moving the play set. It's going to be VERY nice when it's done but I can't imagine interviewing while it looks like this.

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Safety would be my only concern too.

I own two houses and work full time. Sometimes finding time to make sure everything looks perfect doesn't even make it on the list, let alone get done.

I've never had a parent make a comment (negative or positive) about curb appeal.

I also do not prep for interviews. My daycare house looks the same inside and out for interviews as it does any other day. Used and played in and full of happy kids doing what happy kids do.

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I think it probably is important but not something I've ever considered until this thread, lol!

Our backyard is always in good shape because that's where we spend most of our time. Our front yard is sadly neglected. I did just manage to finish the front flower beds and it looks so much better. We have a lot of garbage, too, but it comes with the territory.

If a family was going to pass on me because of some weeds (ok, a lot) and the fact that my garbage cans are out front then I don't think that we would be a good fit

As above said, if it was a safety concern, that is something else.

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