The importance of Home Staging.
What do you mean I need to tidy up and rearrange my furniture? What is wrong with the way it looks now?
Nothing really, for YOU! However what about that potential buyer that is ready to purchase and the difference between making an offer on or forgetting your home altogether lies in how your home is displayed. It can be that simple, it can also add to the offers value. Back when I sold one of my previous homes, I staged it with my wife and we sold our house at a RECORD price in our neighbourhood.
Will it determine 100% the value of your home and guarantee a sale? Not always but what it will do is catch someone’s attention a lot faster than a unkempt untidy domicile. Here are a few tips for staging your home. If you have any questions feel free to contact me and I can come take a look at your home and offer some suggestions or point you towards a professional home stager.
1. Wow these people have a lot of CATS. DEPERSONALIZE. A potential homebuyer needs to picture themselves in your home, and personalized decorating or pictures of the kids or pets can hurt their vision of how they would fit into your home. Remove all family photos and, if necessary, paint brightly coloured walls a more neutral shade.
2. Look at all the wear and tear in this place! No torn window screens, cracked plaster, faded paint or burnt out pot lights. Tour your house with a critical eye (or ask someone else to that you trust), and repair anything that needs it.
3. Illuminate. Many houses don’t have enough lighting to begin with, so if you don’t have enough lighting purchasing a couple lamps could be required and will make a world of difference.
4. That couch takes up the entire family room!. You might have a giant couch that you have had for years, but if it makes the room look small, it has to go, not thrown out just taken out to the garage or a different room. Aim for small groupings of furniture with plenty of space around them. Rearrange your current furniture that may open the room even if you don’t like the way it sits it is only temporary.
5. What is this, Mel’s Diner? Kitchen counters should be clear and clutter-free. A single bowl or vase holding utensils is okay, but that’s about it. Store small appliances in cupboards if you must and keep the counters wiped.
6. Kitchen decoration, do we need to display Kiss the cook aprons? If your kitchen doesn’t have a backsplash, this is a small job that a reasonably handy person can tackle for little money. Invest in some tiles (since you’re doing such a small area, it shouldn’t cost too much) or consider glass mosaics, mirror tile, or even plain tile interspersed with some designed ones.
7. I love crispy, clean sheets. Fresh linens. Make sure any visible linens (tea towels, cushions, oven mitts, etc.) are brand new or at least look brand new.
8. Spotless. Get at all the little nooks and crannies, down to the last detail. This rule, should apply to the entire home.
9. Fix up the Loo. The bathroom, if you cant fully renovate it, Paint it and put up new Shower Liners or a generic picture that may give it a little more life. De clutter as well..
10. Get that hotel look. Replace bathroom towel bars with clean folded ones. You can get matched ensembles that include toilet tissue holder, wastebasket, etc. Aim for the hotel look: Crisp white towels neatly stacked in a towel holder, small trays on the vanity holding attractive toiletries or soaps (wrapped or unused)
11. Keep clutter to a minimum.
12. Fix up the masterbedroom. Continue the hotel look in the master bedroom: Multiple new puffy pillows with shams or toss pillows in front, crisp white linens and a throw at the end of the bed. Keep end tables uncluttered, with matching lamps and nothing else except, perhaps, a small flower vase or plant. Make sure the bed is made and covers tight.
13. The exterior of your home should give the same feel as the interior. This means neatly trimmed bushes, mulched flowerbeds and fresh seasonal arrangements in urns by the front door if possible. Don’t forget to mow that lawn and if you have pets fill any holes in the grass and pick up the droppings.
Not all these tips need to be followed but some of them will work and help bring your home a new cleaner look that may just tip the scales to an offer when its being showed.
