The power of staging and sprucing your home to sell

Why stage a house? The average buyer can not see past what is already there.  Every sense is on high alert when buyers walk through the door of a home they are considering for purchase.  If done well, staging makes a remarkable difference. Staging can change the entire perception of your home. If you are selling your home, consider investing money in home staging.

Make the First Impression Count

From the first moment the buyer walks through the door, everything matters. Clutter be gone!  Coats on a rack, shoes underneath and keys and other doodads in a dish on a console table may show that you’re a fabulous organizer, but this look is not the way to sell a home. Put the coats and shoes in a closet, the keys in your purse and a vase of flowers on the table.

Minimize

Most homes have way too much furniture and accessories. Don’t just straighten up your clutter, remove it. Don’t just move furniture around. Consider getting a storage locker and clearing out any item that is not needed. Think blank canvas, but with some appeal. 

Keep it Extra Clean

Or, if you don’t have the time, hire a cleaning service to come regularly while your home is on the market. Start with a one-time deep cleaning, and keep it prestine the entire time the house is on the market, until your buyers are solidly in place. Then, you can start packing and planning to move – but, not before then. Don’t skip cleaning windows (inside and out). 

Focus on the Positive

Arrange your furnishings to frame (not obstruct or minimize) views, fireplaces and other architectural details. Put tall objects (furniture, vases, paintings or plants) against tall walls. Highlight, don’t block, the traffic flow.

Use Rooms Properly

Take the old exercise equipment out of the guest room and put a nicely dressed bed back in. Put a table and chairs in an eat-in kitchen. Get the home office equipment and filing cabinets out of your little-used dining room and set the table for company (or just put a nice vase of flowers on top). Remove old items whenever possible. Take down heavy, outdated drapes. You are creating a blank canvass for the new buyer of your house to imagine it as their own! 

Make the Repairs

Buyers look for flaws to negotiate a lower sale price. And, they are evaluating the level of care you have invested during your ownership. Any obvious disrepair in your home will leave buyers wondering what else is not quite right. No matter how minor the problem, hire a handyman or take your toolbox around and fix the problem, even if it’s been there and been acceptable to you all 10, 20 or 30 years you’ve lived there.

Spruce it Up

Faded and chipped paint or old furnishings will weigh a home down. Dark walls distract from the true size of a room. A new coat of neutral-toned paint will go a long way. Remove outdated furniture: Buy new furniture, trade pieces with a friend or relative while your house is on the market, or store your furniture and rent a more contemporary style. Worn area rugs (or too many of them) detract from nice wood floors. Shag or other old-fashioned carpeting turns off buyers — replace it if you can; clean it if you can’t. 

Erase Your Personality

Love knick knacks? Collect crystal? Pack them and store them. Box up your collections, your personal photos, and anything you that wouldn’t be on the floor of a furniture showroom. Put away blow dryers, makeup and toothbrushes. Buyers need to be able to imagine themselves in your home.

Find Storage Away From Your House

It’s tempting to shove all the boxes of extras into the basement or garage, but buyers will look there and judge how big they are. Make them as empty as possible by renting a storage space or borrowing a neighbor’s or relative’s garage for a while. (For last-minute things — a stack of papers, a handful of dirty clothes — things you may need to put away before a showing - under the bed is a good place to stash; most buyers never look there.)

Hire a Realtor Who Understands the Value of Quality Staging / Invite Honest Friends Over for an Evaluation

Ask your realtor. A seasoned realtor knows what sells a property and will have plenty of experience helping a property owner through the preparation process.