Home Staging Tips Before You Sell Your Home

First, home staging goes way beyond cleaning & decluttering & organizing. For homeowners who are thinking about selling, it is one of the best marketing and merchandising tool you can use to sell your home.

A professional home stager uses techniques to hype up your homes best features and maximize the appeal of your home to attract the largest pool of buyers.

Here are some home staging tips to get you ready for a home sale.

Grab them from the curb:

Buyers will do a drive-by before deciding whether to request a showing or attend an open house. Make these potential buyers fall in love with your home from the street by adding potted plants and flowers, power-washing patios and walkways, weeding the garden and mowing the lawn. It’s your first chance to make a good impression, so you’ve got to make it count.

Make it sparkle

Biggest complaint among buyers when looking for a home is how unkept and dirty the house is. Buyers will get turned off and if they see you are dirty and unkept in their mind you didn’t take time to love the home. Mop, dust, vacuum, wash windows, baseboards — even the cat. Remember that people will look in your cupboards, under your sinks and in your closets If your closets are cramped and stuffed the buyer is going to think “well if their stuff doesn’t fit then neither will ours”. Also, pay particular attention to odors. You might even consider consulting a neutral nose by having a friend come by for a smell test.

Pay attention to color and light

You may love hot pink in the living room, but too-bright colors turn buyers off. Neutralize strong colors for the broadest appeal. A neutral home appears larger and has less chance of offending someone. Also, open up blinds and draperies to make sure there’s sufficient natural light throughout the home. Remember, lighting is the most effective way to set a mood.

Depersonalize

Few things deter buyers more than a cluttered home. Remember you are selling your space, not your stuff. Show them the room and all the space it has to offer. Excessive personal items like photos, collections, personal awards, electronics and collectibles will make it difficult for buyers to see past your personal style and may deter a sale. They feel like they are invading your privacy, they see your personal papers, your personal toletries, this makes them take a fast look and move on. Taking yourself out of the picture makes it easier for buyers to imagine themselves, and their stuff, in your space.

Consider replacing furnishings

Think about removing or replacing worn or outdated furnishings and get rid of extra pieces. The time has come to move beyond matching furniture, so break up your sets; dated can easily become eclectic with editing and rearranging. Consider consulting with a professional staging company for design direction and advice on rental furnishings to create an inviting home with broad appeal to a wide range of buyers.

Invest in new artwork

Most people don’t realize by displaying new artwork is a great way to breathe new life into a room. Photography can be used to contemporize a room and add a splash of color as well.

Make repairs

Because if you don’t the sellers will low balling the price. Make your home a high-maintenance zone. Repair squeaky doors, chipped or smudged paint as well as broken fixtures and fittings that you’ve neglected. Don’t give the buyers any amnuition to low ball you.

Apply a fresh coat of paint

I always tell my clients, new paint is priceless. It’s the best bang for your buck that will quickly refresh a dull, dated room. Slap a fresh, neutral color on the space. Choose a beige or taupe for living spaces and a neutral green or blue for bathrooms. When buyers see new fresh paint their first thought is...aahhhh we can move in and don’t have to paint. Ask your home stager to recommend some colors. There are beautiful neutral tones that will make your house look beautiful. And you can paint yourself, or have a little paint party ask your freinds, family..just get it done..!!!

Don’t forget the floors

Get rid of worn carpets, and consider refinishing shabby hardwood floors. An inexpensive new area rug is a quick fix and can disguise the look of old floors.

Spring for new light fixtures

Renew the look of the room by replacing old or dated light fixtures, door hardware, light switches and outlets. If it’s tacky and older than you, get it out of there.

Remember, nothing is a gaurantee, but home staging does give you a better chance to sell faster and for the highest price possible. When you home stage your home you are ahead of all the other homes for sale that are not staged.

You cannot change the buyer, but you can change the product you are selling them. This house was listed on the MLS just like this..!!!

Delia Catapano

Stage 2 Style Home Staging & Redesign

917-750-3483

www.stage2style.com

Delia@stage2style.com