Staging your home before you list it can pay for itself many times over. The realtors we work with value our consultations and bring us in before they put new listings on the market. Our Market Prep Consultations typically take about an hour to complete.
During that hour we walk the home with the owner and make a list of tasks that they will need to complete before photos are taken and their home is officially put on market. The reason this is so popular with the Realtors is that the homes they are listing look their absolute best for photos and we have eliminated any "issues" a buyer might focus on which will attract more potential buyers and get the home sold faster for top dollar.
I've put together a short list of some of the items we address during our consultations that you can apply to your own home.
Before we start our walk through we always let the home owner know that staging is geared towards potential buyers and they need to start looking at their home like it is one they are seeing for the first time. The goal is to appeal to the masses and therefore minimize personal items (like photos and artwork) throughout the home.
INSIDE
1. Remove dated wallpaper and repaint walls in neutral colors.
Neutralizing rooms in your home that might have too bold or specific color schemes for the average buyer lessens the amount of work the buyer will say they need to do to the home (negative comments leads to lower or no offers). Buyers want move in ready homes and with all of the new builds and custom build options you need to stay competitive.
*Designer's Tip: If you have several rooms to repaint stay with the same paint color in all of them to add flow to the home and to save you time and money. If you are unsure of what neutral to paint reach out to a professional. We offer a color consultation for just this situation.
2. Clear out and Organize closets and storage spaces.
Having these areas neat and tidy will show potential buyers that there is plenty of storage space in the home. It is also a great time to weed out any items that you don't use anymore or need to be replaced.
3. Decrease clutter throughout your home.
When you stage your home for sale the biggest thing to remember is that you want to maximize space. What is the biggest enemy of space....Clutter! You're going to want to rally the troupes for this one and edit the extra items throughout your home. We always tell everyone to make three piles: keep, donate, toss.
This is probably one of the hardest things for people to do is downsize their stuff but if the rooms of your home are bursting with items it is going to make it feel messy and cramped to potential buyers. So take a good hard look at things and pair them down even if you have to go ahead and pack some items up and put them in your storage areas it will be worth the space you gain and you've already have a head start of packing...Winning!
4. Clear walkways from room to room.
Furniture placement is so important for staging your home. You want potential buyers to have a clear path and not have to squeeze between furniture to get around. Since the living room tends to be the most common room in the home that is overcrowded with furniture or to have a poor layout I've included the info-graphic below to help you layout the room correctly.
*Designer's Tip: Pushing your furniture against walls does not make your room feel larger. Most of the time bringing the furniture in and floating it creates negative space around it and makes the room appear larger.
5. Check your lighting
Make sure all of your lights work and bulbs are not burnt out. We also suggest that all of your bulbs be instant on and that you stick with the same bulb color in rooms. Soft white is typically what people use but we always suggest daylight for rooms that do not have enough natural light or are very dark.
6. CLEAN!
You can do everything on the list but if you do not clean your home from top to bottom it will do nothing for you. A dirty home is a dirty home regardless the style or age and it is the very first thing potential buyers will notice when they walk in.
OUTSIDE
1. Repair any visible damage to the exterior of the home.
When it comes to improvements around your home everyone tends to focus on the interior. And why wouldn't you since it is where one spends the majority of their time. However, this leads to the exterior becoming an afterthought, often ignored and neglected which kills your curb appeal.
2. Wash the windows inside and out. Power wash the siding if it is looking really dingy.
3. Stay on top of lawn care. Mow, weed eat, and rake leaves regularly.
Your yard is an extension of your home. It acts as a preview of what is on the inside. Your curb appeal (or lack thereof) can tell a lot not only about your home but your character in general.
4. Trim trees and bushes, pull weeds, clean out flower beds.
5. Add a pop of color to the front of the house with potted plants.
6. Replace or update front door.
An outdated or unattractive front door has a negative impact on curb appeal and the home as a whole since it is the first focal point potential buyers will see. Most of the time a fresh coat of paint will remedy it, but sometimes you'll just need to consider replacing it. If you do look for on that will compliment your home's architectural style and color palette.
Remember that in today's market putting a for sale sign in your yard and posting your house online will not be that effective. There are a lot of factors that come into play with real estate. Things like staging your home to pricing it correctly can have a big impact on potential buyers. Which is why professionals are always a good decision especially when you are not quite sure how to navigate this whole process.
Still unsure or need help getting your home ready for sale contact us today to set up a consultation.
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