When selling a home it is very important that you “Stage” it properly. This simply means that you will focus on its strengths and try to avoid broadcasting its weaknesses. Below are 10 tips that will help you show your home better and thus increase your chances of selling it.
1. Try re-arranging the books on your bookshelves. Instead of having them all be vertical, try stacking some of them on their sides or adding a plant or some other decorative touch. This will make the shelf take on a whole new look.
2. How the furniture is organized in a home makes a really big difference. Most homes do not have their furniture placed in the optimal position. For bigger rooms, try placing couches and chairs a few feet from the walls. You don’t want huge spaces in the middle. On the other hand, smaller rooms look better when the furniture is up against the walls so it maximizes the size appearance of the room. Look through magazines and online to get ideas.
3. Too much or too little furniture are both things to avoid. A crowded room with too many pieces or furniture looks small and cramped. An empty room looks uninviting and uncomfortable. So see if you can move things around a bit. Take some furniture out of the crowded rooms and put them in the less crowded rooms. If that’s not possible then just get rid of it temporarily. Put them in storage if you have to. You want your home to be as inviting and open as possible but yet not to have an empty feel to it.
4. Take a look at your drapes and curtains and check to see how much light they are letting into the room. If you have a really heavy material that the drapes are made out of it may reduce the amount of light that is allowed into the room. You’ll want to change that. The more light that comes into a room, the more inviting it is and the larger it makes the room appear.
5. Speaking of lighting, it is a very important element for all rooms. Try adding different lights to a room to brighten it up. End table lights, accent lights, pedestal lights, etc. Think of the movie industry: “Lights, Camera, Action”. Everything starts with the light!
6. Bathrooms are the next area you’ll want to focus on. Obviously the cleaner a bathroom is the better. Make sure the mirrors are shiny and that there are no water marks on the faucets and sinks. This is a great area for scented candles! And little decorative touches such as baskets or a small plant make all the difference as well. Think “High end hotel”. What would you see there? Try to duplicate it.
7. Remember that first impressions are lasting. The first thing a potential buyer sees is the front of the house. Does your door need a fresh coat of paint? Is the lawn cut? Are the bushes and flowers trimmed and looking fabulous? Are there kid’s toys or other junk lying around the yard? Clean it up and make it inviting. Nobody will buy unless they actually make it into your house!
8. De-personalize your house. Get rid of excessive family photos, religious pictures, and other personal showcase items. You may be the proudest Mom in the world that your child won first place at school for their art project but your buyers WON’T CARE! So take it off the fridge. Instead, replace most of your personal decor with generic items that will appeal to most people. Some personal items are fine but you know what I’m talking about here. More is worse! Not everyone will like the same things as you. Make your decor appeal to the biggest range of buyers as possible.
9. Sparky and Fluffy need to go on a vacation! Your cat or dog may be a part of the family but they could present a problem when selling your home. The obvious thing here is that the family pet will probably not be too happy with all the strangers walking through his/her turf and they may decide to make a statement about it! Other potential problems could be potential buyers being allergic, being offended by seeing dog poop in the yard, shedding hair on furniture or the carpet, smelling odors, etc. If it’s not practical to send the family pet on sabbatical, then at least arrange to take them for a drive or something when buyers are walking through your home.
10. The final thing to remember is this: It’s mainly the small things that make the difference. You don’t have to add an additional wing to your home or finish the basement to make it sell. But you certainly do need to clean it, patch up the holes, touch up the paint, and fix any small items that are broken. The little things go a long way and will give your home that tidy and clean appearance when potential buyers look at it.
Some final things to do right before showing a home that are always a winner are: scented candles, soft classical music in the background, fresh baked cookies or bread that just came out of the oven (sounds corny but it really works!) Leave some on the counter for the buyers! It’s all about the ambiance! Do something that the competition didn’t think of. Most of the things mentioned here are inexpensive and just take a little bit of your time. But if you do it, you are greatly increasing your chances of getting better offers and selling your home in a timely fashion! GOOD LUCK!
Judy Allen is an absolute expert in real estate and has been in the industry for over 28 years. She focuses mainly on selling Davis County Homes in Utah and also Layton Homes. Please stop by her website today to see what she can do for you.
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