Staging A Home For Sale
When you decide to list your home for sale, it becomes a product.
A product that is competing with a lot of other products, or homes that are also listed. You are in a merchandising competition where the best packaging wins. The houses that look the best AND are priced right will sell while the others languish on the market. It is important to note that you will get the most interest in the beginning – this is when the pool of pre-qualified buyers who are waiting for a home like yours will rush to see the new listing. When you do present your home as merchandise and do it well, one or more of this first group will write you an offer.
Home staging creates an open-ended story where the Buyer can imagine their lives in your home. It can also help describe unusual areas of your home to On the contrary, when you leave your furniture and personal items in the home it tells a story about your lives which distracts the Buyer from ‘moving into’ the space preventing them from considering an offer. Good home staging creates an emotional connection with buyers. It makes your house a “must-have.” When buyers fall in love with your home, you sell faster and for more money.
For more information about your home’s value and how we would present it for sale to the market, please contact us directly.
More Home Staging Tips:
It is critical that every home seller who is interested in maximizing the return on their investment consider the benefits of staging a home for sale. This will help every homeowner to sell faster and to bring top dollar. Does that sound good to you? Well, it’s not luck that makes that happen. It’s careful planning and knowing how to professionally spruce up your home that will send home buyers scurrying for their checkbooks.
Here is how to prep a house and turn it into an irresistible and marketable home.
Disassociate Yourself with Your Home
Of all the home staging tips we could suggest, the most important is to say to yourself, “This is not my home; it is a house — a product to be sold much like a box of cereal on the grocery store shelf or a car for sale on a dealer’s lot. How would I expect this product to look to a consumer?”
Make the mental decision to “let go” of your emotions and focus on the fact that soon this house will no longer be yours.
Picture yourself handing over the keys and envelopes containing appliance warranties to the new owners!
Say goodbye to every room.
Don’t look backward — look toward the future.
De-Personalize & De-Clutter
People collect an amazing quantity of junk. Consider that if you haven’t used ‘it’ in over a year, you probably don’t need it.
If you don’t need it, why not donate it or throw it away?
Remove all books from bookcases.
Pack up those knickknacks.
Clean off everything on kitchen counters.
Put essential items used daily in a small box that can be stored in a closet when not in use.
Think of this process as a head-start on the packing you will eventually need to do anyway.
Rearrange Bedroom Closets & Kitchen Cabinets
Buyers love to snoop and will open closet and cabinet doors. Think of the message it sends if items fall out! Now imagine what a buyer believes about you if she sees everything organized. It says you probably take good care of the rest of the house as well. This means:
Alphabetize spice jars.
Neatly stack dishes.
Turn coffee cup handles facing the same way.
Hang shirts together, buttoned and facing the same direction.
Line up shoes.
Refold the linen closet – or better yet, pack it up! People want to see that there is extra space in your closets. In other words, “You have so much storage you don’t even need it all!”
Rent a Storage Unit
Almost every home shows better with less furniture. Remove pieces that block or hamper paths and walkways and put them in storage. Since your bookcases are now empty, store them. Remove extra leaves from your dining room table to make the room appear larger. Leave just enough furniture in each room to showcase the room’s purpose and plenty of room to move around. You don’t want buyers scratching their heads and saying, “What is this room used for?”
Remove/Replace Favorite Items
If you want to take window coverings, built-in appliances or fixtures with you, remove them now. If the chandelier in the dining room once belonged to your great grandmother, take it down. If a buyer never sees it, they won’t want it. Once you tell a buyer they can’t have an item, the buyer will covet it, and it could blow your deal.
Pack those items and replace them, if necessary.
Make Minor Repairs
Replace cracked floor or counter tiles.
Patch holes in walls.
Fix leaky faucets.
Fix doors that don’t close properly and kitchen drawers that jam.
Consider painting your walls neutral colors, especially if you have grown accustomed to purple or pink walls.
(Don’t give buyers any reason to remember your home as “the house with the orange bathroom.”)Replace burned-out light bulbs.
If you’ve considered replacing a worn bedspread, do so now!
Make the House Sparkle for Photos!
Wash windows inside and out.
Rent a pressure washer and spray down sidewalks and exterior.
Clean out cobwebs.
Re-caulk tubs, showers and sinks.
Polish chrome faucets and mirrors.
Clean out the refrigerator.
Vacuum (daily).
Wax floors.
Dust furniture, ceiling fan blades and light fixtures.
Bleach dingy grout.
Replace worn rugs.
Hang up fresh towels.
Bathroom towels look great fastened with ribbon and bows.
Check Curb Appeal (see details below)
Take down any items cluttering the countertops – things that look natural when you are walking through the home make a cluttered appearance in the photos. That means hide the following:
Paper towels and holders
Dishtowels
Knife holders
Soap dispensers / dishes
Coffee makers
Toothbrushes
Cups by the sink
Jewelry on the dresser
Cookbooks
Scrutinize
Go outside and open your front door. Stand there. Do you want to go inside? Does the house welcome you?
Linger in the doorway of every single room and imagine how your house will look to a buyer.
Examine carefully how furniture is arranged and move pieces around until it makes sense.
Make sure window coverings hang level.
Tune in to the room’s statement and its emotional pull. Does it have impact and pizzazz?
Does it look like nobody lives in this house? You’re almost finished.
Clean and air out any musty smelling areas. Odors are a no-no. (Do you have a Cat Box?! If so, clean it out completely! We are talking fresh litter and cleaning daily)
Check Curb Appeal
If a buyer won’t get out of their agent’s car because they doesn’t like the exterior of your home, you’ll never get them inside.
Keep the sidewalks cleared.
Mow the lawn.
Paint faded window trim.
Plant yellow flowers or group flower pots together. Yellow evokes a buying emotion. Marigolds are inexpensive.
Trim your bushes.
Make sure visitors can clearly read your house number.
Pets?
Be sure to instruct your agent about the character of the pets. If they are aggressive or fearful, it is probably best to remove them for the showings. If you need extra time to make that happen make sure these instructions are included for the office to work around.
If your pets are nice and can stay at the house should they be crated? Do they need to be left inside or can they go outside? All important information to point out to your agent!
