STAGING YOUR HOME BRINGS A FASTER SALE AND MORE DOLLARS
Put yourself in the buyers’ shoes to sell your house quickly and for the highest possible price. You may soon be a buyer yourself, so you must think like a buyer!
1. De-clutter. Put yourself in the Buyers shoes… clutter in a house will distract buyers from seeing what the house would look like with their furnishings in it. Keep in mind that they don’t care about YOUR COLLECTIONS, they want to see how large the rooms are, including volume ceilings, what the views are, and how they will be happy living in this property.
2. De-Personalize. You are selling your house, not your family. Pack up ALL FAMILY PICTURES as they will distract buyers from looking at the spaciousness of your home. Your family pictures are a distraction. Start packing now, it will save you time later.
3. Deep clean. House must be immaculate. Take everything off kitchen counters (EVERYTHING!) and pack it up or put it away. New cabinet knobs can make a difference in appeal too. Get rid of ALL PILES OF PAPERS, newspapers and other paperwork. Put it in a drawer where it won’t be seen. Make sure floors shine, carpets are vacuumed, windows are sparkling and floorboards are wiped clean. Remove carpet stains. If you have pets, get rid of pet odors… that is a huge turnoff… and keep pets out of the house when buyers are looking.
4. Lighten and brighten. Keep all lights on when showing to give a warm welcoming feeling, particularly on dark or rainy days. If your home has neutral backgrounds, all to the good, but add small splashes of color with throw pillows and real flowers or blooming plants. Artwork can add color as well. Remove any damaged furniture as buyers will think, “If they don’t take care of their furniture, do they take care of maintaining the home?”
5. Keep traditional rooms traditional. If your dining room is not set up as a dining room, buyers may think there IS NO DINING ROOM IN THE HOUSE. Set it up like a dining room. If you have an office in the house, have a sofa bed in there and show that it can be a bedroom instead or an office/guest room and KEEP YOUR DESK UNCLUTTERED. Position furniture NOT TO GET IN THE WAY of the buyer seeing a spacious room. Remove furniture if necessary: MINIMAL is the name of the game.
6. Curb appeal. NO CLUTTER on the exterior property. Have trees pruned, add colorful plants, perhaps have a splash of color at the front door. Be sure front door is cleaned and painted, and every day sweep away any leaves on the steps and path to the front door.
7. Patio. Every day sweep off leaves. Position furniture so buyers can envision how they will use the patio. No litter boxes or pet toys should be in sight. Move them when you are having a showing; put them back afterwards. Big turnoff to buyers.
8. Outdated Wallpaper. No buyer wants wallpaper on the walls that is outdated looking, nor wallpaper where seams are coming apart. For minimal expense, have wallpaper removed and paint walls in a neutral color.
