Staging your Home
Staging your Home to SELL!
So you have decided to sell your home? You have a lot to do, the first being choosing an agent that knows market trends in your community and how to pro-actively MARKET your home, not just list it. That is a very important distinction. Second, you need to sever the emotional ties to your home. Whatever the home needs, it is no longer your home, you are just living in it until it sells. That makes it easier.
Hopefully your agent is well versed in staging a home, and can help you make the right decisions to have your home show it's very best to prospective buyers. Clutter is the number one issue for most sellers. Let's take the kitchen first as it is arguably the most important room in your home. The kitchen needs to be clutter free to show just how much counter/work space you have. The smaller the counter, the less clutter you can get away with. Pick the most important appliance, your toaster, coffee maker, and place that on the counter. Put the rest of them away. (ouch!) Place a few colorful, decorative items on the counter, and that is it. Take all the family pictures off of the refrigerator. One decorative item on top of the refrigerator completes the work areas. If you have a childs highchair, its best to remove it for showings. If you have a desk in the kitchen, remove all the clutter and put it in the drawers.
If you have a storage area on the Terrace level that is fairly isolated from view, you will need it as you review each room. If not, secure a storage room on a monthly basis to house some of your things. Put your "Buyer's eyes" on, look at each area with fresh and discerning eyes. Your goal is to make each room look as big as it really is, and sometimes furniture will add to the perceived smallness of a room. Lets start with the living or family room. Pick a focal point, such as a fireplace or a television. If possible, take the larger of your couches and place it diagonally in the room facing the point of focus. Arrange other furniture around it, making sure to leave walking space, and making sure that you do not create too tight of a 'pit group' of furniture. If you wonder what to do with the remaining pieces in the room, they best go in another room or in storage.
Remember that the goal is "less is more". We want your home to look its best, and open and airy is a good impression to make. When it comes time to place the home on market, it needs to be clean, odor free, beds made, like a model home would look like. If you agent suggests that you change the color of a room to a more neutral color, do it. Might as well get it done now instead of six months down the road when it hasn't sold. If you know the carpet needs replacing, do it now!! Buyers have little imagination, and they don't want the hassles, even if you give them an allowance for it. They would rather see it done. So do it up front to cut down on the time to market the house. Just think, the longer its on market, the more payments you make, and the more beds you have to make.
