OK! So it's a new year and you're considering the possibility of listing and marketing your home for sale this year, perhaps you're planning on selling your home this spring. You're wondering where to start. What to do to get your home sold successfully in the shortest amount of time for the most money possible in the current real estate market. When the curtain goes up on your house...what will visitors see?
Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate and the Winning Agent website tell agents that selling a home profitably in today's market isn't easy. However, if you follow these simple home staging tips, you'll not only maximize your selling price, you'll probably speed up your sales timeline too.
There are professionals who are paid to stage homes, however, home staging is mostly common sense and creativity. Here are a few tips and tricks that home stages use:
--Follow the 50% Rule
--Start Packing
--Depersonalize
--Apply Cosmetics
--Use Flower Power
--Hide Your Kids and Pets
--Accessorize
When you're staging your home, think of a model home that you have visited. Think about the minimal amount of props used. Think about neutral tones of paint on the wall and the complimentary props in the room. If you haven't been in a model home for a while, ask your Realtor to show you a decorated model home in your area. Less is more.
1) Follow the 50% Rule
Start with your kitchen and bathroom counters and remove at least 50% of everything that's on them. Put away utensils and small appliances. A decorative bowl with fresh fruit looks great on the kitchen counter. Cereal boxes, dish drainers, and bottles of vitamins do not. In the bathroom, get rid of hair dryers, cans of hairspray, combs and brushes. A pretty basket with guest towels and small soaps is all you need. Less is more.
2) Start Packing
The 50% rule of home staging applies to your closets too. Here's why: if closets look overstuffed and crowded, potential home buyers touring your home will think you don't have enough storage space and therefore what will they do to store there own things. Get your packing boxes ready. You're going to moving when the house sells anyway, so let's get a head start. Remove 50% of your clothes, linens and other items from closets and cupboards. The goal is to make everything look clean and spacious. Hang clothes together by type -- shirts and blouses on the rod, pants and skirts on another. Get shoes up off the floor and organized into boxes, or into a storage container under the bed. Store packed boxes in the garage or somewhere else out of sight. Again, less is more.
3) Depersonalize
Your buyer/visitors need to visualize themselves living in your home, not be haunted by the ghosts of families past. Put the family photographs away. Remove magnets, grocery lists, and kids' artwork from the refrigerator door. If you have a home office or workspace, keep personal papers and files in drawers or otherwise out of sight. Put away diplomas, certificates and awards. Remember! Less is more!
4) Apply Cosmetics
Be sure everything works. This includes light fixtures, fans, door bells, screen and sliding doors, locks and fausets. Make minor repairs. If your dog has chewed a window sill -- replace it and paint it. If your 4 year old has applied crayons to your walls, paint the entire room -- not just the marks. If your cat, has used the floor of your closet as a litter box, replace the carpet in the entire room and remediate for the odor. If your walls are anything but neutral, of if they are even slightly soiled, invest in a coat of paint -- it's the cheapest cosmetic you can use. Again, home staging is about buyer visualization. If your teenage daughter has painted her room in purple and black, the buyers will have a hard time seeing their four-year-old in the space, and they will immediately start figuring how much it will cost them to repaint. Don't go for stark white - it feels cold. Choose a pale, warm neutral instead. Don't forget to put fresh, clean welcome mats at the front and back doors and any other entry ways. If there is a kitchen drawer that sometimes falls off it's track, FIX IT! Don't overlook anything. It could cost you the sale!
5) Use Flower Power
Inside and out, flowers are an inexpensive way to brighten things up and make your home come alive. A few pots of seasonal flowers near the front door say "Welcome." Inside, flowers or potted plants make the hosue seem fresh and healthy. HINT: potted orchids are relatively inexpensive and last a LONG time with minimal care. And please, get real. No plastic flowers, ever.
6) Hide Your Kids and Pets
We're not suggesting you lock them in the basement and hope no one notices. Just hide the evidence. No litter boxes in the bathroom, chew toys on the carpet, Lego's in the living roo,. Of course kid's have "stuff." Just get a big trunk or toy box where you can toss everything when the Realor calls with a showing. Make sure the beds are made, clothes hung up, and bathrooms are pristine. Bribe them if you have to -- but kids and pets must be motivated to help to show the house off in the best light possible. If not they will sabatage the deal everytime you're up to bat with a home tour.
7) Accessorize
Professional home stagers are experts at using a few well-chosen accessories for maximum effect. A few decorative pillows or a luxurious throw can add glamour to a sofa or chair. Keep your dining room table or breakfast bar set with colorful placemats and cloth napkins perhaps in napkin rings. Bright pillows and table settings work well for a patio or outdoor seating area too, if the season is right. If you want to draw attention to a good feature of your home, such as a fireplace, accessorize it with a piece of art or an attractive vase or sculpture. Use a decorative mirror to make a small area or room look larger. A small area rug, properly placed, can hide a worn or soiled carpet.
The secret to home staging is to pretend it's not your home. You're the buyer's now -- see your home through their eyes. What would make you want to buy this house? Do that, and you'll maximize your chances of a quick, profitable sale.
Sara Hibbard is a licensed Realtor in the state of Georgia. Sara councils people on how to sell their home and / or purchase a new home after spending a great amount of time learning the goals, lifestyle and "needs" and "wants" of her clients. Sara is available at 404-660-2481 or via e-mail at sara@SaraHibbard.com to answer your many questions regarding the Atlanta metro real estate market in general or specifics regarding the buying / relocation / selling process. Sara Hibbard is Glad Georgia Real Estate is on Your Mind!
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