Staging Your Home to Sell
Stage It, Sell It, Profit!
Turn on any popular home network on cable TV and you'll find a program on the benefits of staging. Re-arrange your furniture, pick a soothing color palette, clear out the family photos & your home will sell faster & for more money. Sound too frou-frou to be true? It’s not! The soft and decorative side of staging is backed by hard facts.
Several of our agents are Certified in Staging and if asked, will always help our agents stage vacant listings or help with redesign of your space- so another great reason to list with us. Need a little help in making your home show better? List with a Your Realty Link agent or Team.
- Real estate agents like great-looking homes because they are easier to sell.
- An agent’s job is to please their clients, and they will direct their buyers to the homes they think they will buy.
- Agents talk to other agents who are also directing their buyers to the best homes on the market. An attractive listing will be shown more often, meaning more market exposure—critical for a quick and profitable house sale.
- Staging is non-negotiable in many parts of the country. Staging a listing for sale in an area where the concept hasn’t caught on can give you an advantage, particularly if there are many unsold listings similar to yours on the market. Buyers gravitate to listings that look good and are in move-in condition.
- Buyers are looking for value. When prices are flat or on the decline, buyers need to perceive that the house is worth the price.
STAGING IS A VALUE-ADDED SERVICE
Staging an entire home could cost you up to $3000!
But Not With Our Team - Free Staging Advice Is Part of Our Service
Bottom line: staging is more than an exercise in tasteful interior design. It is a business decision that can have a huge impact on your financial return and timeline.
Our Broker, Janet Giles says: Over the years I have helped many sellers move a piece of furniture from one side of a room to the other to present the room to buyers or I’ve been called in to suggest the right color of paint for a wall but it wasn’t until this past year that I officially became a “certified” home stager. Real estate sales is my lifetime career but I felt being able to assist both buyers and sellers in staging and redesign was an added value to my services.
Staged Homes Sell 50% Faster…. Staged Homes Sell for 6-10% More
Contact us today if you are interested in . But let me warn you too – staging is simply enhancing your home ‘with the furniture and accessories you already have’. Staging helps the buyer feel comfortable by making the space in your home feel welcoming, uncluttered, and draws a buyer in. Rearranging furniture away from a wall, for instance, can actually make a room seem larger with a sense of harmony and order. Many sellers want to sell their home but they don’t take depersonalizing their home seriously. Collections for instance may appeal to you but a rock collection or a doll collection may just look like clutter to a perspective homebuyer. “When in doubt – take it out” is a bottom line for staging. Think about a model home…your finished, staged home should resemble more the model home with its limited number of pictures and just a few items on the counter tops. You can easily place your own furniture and accessories when you walk into a model home. Let us help you set the stage to sell! We can talk about this added value service when we discuss listing your home. (Janet is certified in staging and making this offer.
Do you want help staging your home for sale? Email me and let me know how I can help.
Exterior:
- Make sure your lawn is mowed and edged. The first impression a buyer will get of your home is from the outside. Curb appeal is very important. If you don’t have the time to keep the lawn mowed and edged, now is the time when hiring a service would benefit you. This way you don’t have to worry about making sure it always is done in time for a buyer to see it or an open house.
- Trim all the trees and shrubs on your property. If you can’t reach some of your tree’s or have the equipment to trim the trees and shrubs, we suggest you hire a landscape company to get it in shape for you. You can also rent the equipment from a rental company if you would prefer to do it yourself.
- Plant some flowers or display large flower pots. This is the best way to brighten up your yard and enhance that curb appeal. You can pick up inexpensive pots at a pottery place, K-Mart, Target, Home Depot, or even at a Garage Sale. These same places carry all types of flowers and shrubs too at good prices.
- Sweep and clean all sidewalks and pathways. If you are in a climate that has snow and ice, make sure you clean the sidewalks and pathways and also the decks and put down salt so it clears and no one falls. Make sure no toys, papers, or outside tools are left in the walk-ways.
- Repair and clean all windows. Replace any cracked or broken windows and make sure they are clean for a well maintained look.
- Clean all eaves and drain spouts. Blocked eaves and drain spouts can lead to damage that will cost more than keeping them clean. A ladder and either your hand or a small broom can clean them out or you can hire a handyman to do it for you.
- Paint exterior areas that need painting. Peeling or chipped paint should be taken care of for a fresh well cared for look to your home.
- Clean or replace door knobs. The entrance to the home should be perfect from the finish on the door to the door knob and locks. If they are dated and can’t be cleaned, then they should be replaced.
- Keep Garage Door closed. First impressions are important and even though the garage is an important space, it should not have the door left open at anytime. You also don’t want people to think they should enter through the garage because it is open.
Interior:
- Remove all family photos, trophies, personal crafts, etc. Personal items such as pictures, trophies with names, home made crafts, etc. often keep people from being able to visualize the home for themselves and distract from other features of the home.
- Remove all “clutter” (ie: newspapers, boxes, etc.,) it will make your home feel bigger. Make sure the counters in baths and the kitchen are clutter free and papers either put away or in the trash. Dishes should always be done and put away, not left in the sink.
- Clean all your carpets. If the carpet needs to be replaced, do so and make sure it is a neutral color. If it does not need replacing, have it cleaned or do it yourself by renting a carpet cleaning machine.
- Repair or paint any chipped or dirty walls. Remember to choose neutral colors when painting your wall’s, not everyone like the bold colors or blue or red tones. If all that is needed is to wash the walls, do the entire wall, not just spots.
- Make doors and windows open correctly and easily. Just use a little A-1 oil where needed so that everything opens’s and closes easily.
- Repair and minor damages. (ie: plaster, wallpaper, creaking floor boards, etc.) If you have wall-paper and the seams are opening up, a small tube of wall paper paste can be purchased at K-Mart or a wall paper store. Creaking floor boards need to be repaired. You may need to hire a flooring person to lift up the flooring to repair the boards if you don’t want to attempt it yourself. Plaster repairs also may need the attention of an expert.
- Add some indoor plants. Plants add a warm feeling to a home. Green and flowering plants both work well.
Additional Tips if you are going to have an “OPEN HOUSE”:
- If possible, keep all pets out of the house. Pet’s need to either be out of the home or in a crate when the home is shown or an Open House is planned. Even the best Pet can have an off day and bite someone, and many buyers may be afraid of curtain pets.
- Add some fresh flowers in a vase. Colorful fresh flowers add warmth to a room.
- Make all the rooms in your house smell good. If you don’t like to bake fresh cookies, just add a cinnamon stick to water and put it in the oven on low for a nice smell or a scented candle always adds a nice aroma.
- Clean and clear all table tops, desks, shelves, etc. Clutter takes away from the features of the home.
- Create as much light as possible. Open all blinds and curtains. The brighter the home the better. Windows need to be clean, blinds and curtains open, and lights on when needed.
- Add fresh towels to the bathrooms. New fresh towels and even small soaps in a soap dish add a lot to the bathrooms.
- Turn off all TV’s computers, etc. During showings and Open houses, TV’s and computers should be off. They tend to take away the attention of the buyer.
- Add a little music softly in the background. Soft music can add relaxation to the buyers mood as they go through the home.
- Never hold an Open House alone. You are allowing strangers into your home and it is better to have another person with you. This person should be another adult, not a child. Also have a cell phone with you at all times if possible and an auto dial button for 911. When showing the home, always have the buyer enter the room ahead of you so that the exit is never blocked. If there is a basement in the home, have the lights on and have the buyer go ahead of you, again always leaving the exit open for you if needed. Open house’s can be on any day, not just week-ends, but should always be during the day, with hours that end before dark.
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