Staging Your Home to Sell
Staging your house can make you money. Seventy-seven percent of buyers’ agents said staging a home made it easier for a buyer to visualize the property as a future home according to the National Association of REALTORS® Profile of Home Staging.
Staging doesn’t guarantee you more money, but it can help you compete at the right price and sell your home faster. Below are 7 tips to staging your home. Pull out your note pad and pen and get ready to take some notes to improve your home staging process.
7 Tips for Maximizing Your Home Staging Experience
Home Staging Tip #1 – Plan Ahead
Be prepared prior to staging your home. Do these items first:
Put yourself in the shoes of a buyer and walk through each room in your home criticizing it from the buyer perspective.
Talk to your real estate agent for his or her advice.
Consider hiring a professional home inspector and WDO Inspector to determine any needed repairs.
If major repairs are needed, hire a contractor to handle them.
Repair cracks and holes in the walls and touch-up paint. You can find drywall putty at a local home improvement store.
Paint interior walls with neutral colors, i.e. beige, cream or light grey.
Consider getting an appraisal and/or survey of your lot.
Hold a yard sale. Sell, donate or trash anything you don’t need. This will clear space and declutter.
You’ll be surprised how far a new paint job of the interior can go in improving a home’s appearance and freshness. Here is an example of how simply painting can improve the home appearance drastically.
Notice how the grey walls contrast nicely with the white trim. If you have hardwood floors in your house that are scratched or in rough condition like the photo above, you can have them refinished. Notice how nice the floors turned out after refinishing them.
Home Staging Tip #2 – Clean, Declutter and De-personalize
A thorough cleaning can make the home appear brand new again:
Thoroughly clean the entire home, don’t forget the windows!
Scrub tile in the kitchen and bathrooms to remove dirt, grease, rust, etc. and make it appear new.
Clean hardwood floors or consider refinishing them if heavily scratched (see above photos).
Steam clean carpets. Consider replacing carpet if stains are severe.
Steam clean drapes and blinds.
Thoroughly dust your home, don’t forget the baseboards.
Use Magic Eraser to clean woodwork as needed.
Declutter to make home feel larger and maximize space.
Remove excess and oversized furniture to make space appear larger.
Rearrange furniture to maximize space.
Organize room closets and store out-of-season clothes to de-clutter the closet space.
Remove all small appliances, toys, magazines and pet items.
Remove and store family photos, collectables and medications.
Remove unnecessary items from the garage and store them off site.
Secure valuable items: cash, jewelry and medicines.
Home Staging Tip #3 – Maximize Curb Appeal
First impression is everything in selling your home. One of the first times someone sees your house will be from the street as they drive by or pull in to your driveway on the day of a showing or open house.
Paint the home’s exterior, including trim, doors and shutters.
Power wash the siding and concrete areas. Mold and mildew removal via power washing will freshen up the siding’s appearance.
Inspect the roof for leaks and make repairs.
Clean the gutters and downspouts
Check front door, doorbell, lighting and welcome mat
Repair cracks in the driveway and sidewalks
Sweep the entryway and walkways
Mow, water and fertilize the lawn
Trim shrubs and trees and rake the leaves
Plant colorful flowers and shrubs
Store any toys or equipment lying on the yard
Clean up pet droppings (do this daily and before all showings)
Home Staging Tip #4 – Clean, Repair, Update Kitchens and Bathrooms
The biggest money makers in your home are the kitchen and bathrooms. Making repairs to these two rooms can increase the value of your home and will be the major attractions to home buyers.
Mop and wax/polish the floors.
Replace outdated hardware.
Clean appliances and fixtures.
Clean and organize the pantry, cabinets and drawers.
Replace old caulking around sinks and bathtubs.
Remove stains from sinks, toilets and bathtubs & showers.
Keep all toilet seat lids closed.
If you plan to update the kitchen, consider the finishes of other homes in your neighborhood so you don’t overdo it and spend more money than needed.
Home Staging Tip #5 – Appeal to the Senses
Lighting will be a important sense to appeal to. It can make rooms appear more spacious and welcoming compared to dark rooms with poor lighting. It’s also important to appeal to smell by having plug-in air fresheners emitting fumes every hour to keep rooms smelling clean. Here are several steps to take to appeal to the senses:
Turn on soft music (jazz or classical) at a low volume.
Install higher wattage incandescent light bulbs to brighten rooms.
Open curtains or blinds to let in natural light and show off views.
Relocate pets on the day of the open house.
Refrain from smoking in the home or cooking smelly foods.
Home Staging Tip #6 – Show Off Your Home’s Best Features
If you prepare your home properly, it can sell itself without much problem. The best features of your home should do most of the talking to buyers so make sure to show these off. Here are some tips to show off your home’s best features:
Remove rugs to show off hardwood floors.
Pull back drapes to showcase nice views.
Stage the front porch or deck with furniture and potted plants.
Clean the backyard and pool area.
Remember that backyards are great family areas where families will picture their kids playing as well as having people over for parties and holidays. Landscaping, cleaning, and staging of this area can be a great bonus incentive.
Home Staging Tip #7 – Prepare for the Open House
Inform family, friends, co-workers and neighbors of the date and time of your open house. Referrals from family or friends is another great way to increase the pool of buyers checking out your home for sale.
A good Realtor will put ads in local newspapers, real estate publications and on Web sites. The internet is where 90% of buyers start their search so make sure your home is listed for sale in multiple places on the internet.
Your Realtor will place “Open House” signs on the front lawn and at nearby intersections with directions to the house. This is a great method to draw in traffic from main streets with lots of daily traffic.
Lastly, keep the thermostat at a comfortable temperature; let the Buyers enjoy being in your beautifully staged home!
For more information about listing your home to sell, contact us at www.peggydyerealty.com
