There's a lot that goes into getting your home ready to sell. This can be an overwhelming experience without the insight needed to show it off. The first thing you need to keep in mind is what the potential buyer's first impression is of your home. That begins with the front yard. Yes, if it is unkept and full of sad landscaping, time to get to work and start manicuring and planting. Also, seasonal flowers with a burst of color help to cheer things up a bit. I mean who doesn't like colorful landscaping? Too, take an object view of the front façade of your home. If the windows are dirty and paint needs freshening, put a little elbow grease into it and make it shine. This will go a long way in the buyer's mind that you have taken care our your home. This goes for the side and back yards as well. You want to give the image of spaciousness so, don't be looking like Sanford and Son, clean up the clutter. You don't want them being distracted by all your stuff.
Next up, time to address the inside. Home Staging is all about 3 things: Depersonalizing your home, getting rid of all the clutter, and neutralizing the paint colors. When I talk about depersonalizing, I mean put away any family photos, trophies, etc..., sensitive documents and medications. You really want the potential buyer focused on the house, not your family and who they are and what they do. Again, no distractions are key. For your safety, put all sensitive documents in a safe or lock box discreetly tucked away. This includes password notebooks, birth certificates, social security cards, and photo albums. Get what I am saying? You never know who is coming for the showing, better safe than sorry. Put those prescriptions away, too! Especially ones that people might use recreationally. I have heard of potential buyers asking to use the bathroom and helping themselves to your medications. Of course the Realtor really shouldn't leave them alone during the walk through, but they are not going to hold their hands when nature calls.
When buyers are doing a walk through with the Realtor, you want them to see the house and it's bones if you will. They are looking for any trouble spots as well as features. So, let the staging begin! The idea is to turn your home into a house that is for sale. This can be a little sad but rewarding in the end. What we are looking for here is to temper your home décor. Staging is just that, furnished just enough for you to live comfortable but, not so comfortable that you might be on the next episode of hoarders. If you are a collector, I am talking to you. Time to spring clean and pack away all of your collectibles. You've gotta do it anyway so why not get a head start on it? We want to create more openness and give the illusion of bigger rooms. This leads me to the furniture and it's placement. It might be beneficial to you to invest in a storage unit to downsize the furniture, if necessary, to achieve that goal of spaciousness. We don't really want anybody tripping over any furniture during the walk through giving them the impression of smaller rooms. To, it might be wise to consult with a designer about what the best space planning is for each room. If the house flows well that is more gold stars for you in the buyer's mind.
Finally, let's talk about that paint. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and there is no judgment from me. I absolutely love color! However, in this case a neutral calming light color palette is king. By neutralizing the walls and lightening them up if need be, you have now added to the idea of spaciousness. Simply put darker colors advance and lighter colors recede. Also, this gives them a blank canvas for which to envision what types of colors they might like to add.
Now that you are armed with some good information about staging, it's time to call in your favors. Make a to do list for each room and have family and friends over to tackle those projects. I figure if you wine and dine them you might get a better response so make an event out of it. A little guilt might not be bad either to motivate them further to help you. Something like if you really loved me.... should do the trick.
Thank you for taking the time to stop by and, if you need a staging pro, click on my connect button and fill out the contact form so we can chat. I would really love to hear from you.
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