Get rid of the clutter! Trim the bushes! Clean the garage! Take down the family pictures! Potential buyers love to do drive-bys before deciding whether to request a showing or attend an open house. Make these potential buyers fall in love with your home from the street by adding potted plants and flowers, power-washing patios and walkways, weeding the garden and mowing the lawn. It’s your first chance to make a good impression, so you’ve got to make it count. Highlight your home’s strengths, downplay its weaknesses and appeal to the greatest possible pool of prospective buyers with these home-staging tips.
2. Make it sparkle.
Think Spring Cleaning or pretend that your mother or mother-in-law is coming for a visit. Mop, dust, vacuum, wash windows & baseboards. People will look in your cupboards, under your sinks and in your closets. Pay particular attention to odors. You might even consider consulting a neutral nose by having a friend come by for a smell test. If you are a pet owner be sure to take pets out of home for showings if possible and anything that belongs to your pet (food dishes, bed or litter boxes)
3. Be sure to pay attention to color and light.
You may love color in the great room, but too-bright colors turn buyers off. Neutralize strong colors to help the buyer imagin the homes at their home. A neutral home appears larger and has less chance of offending someone. Also, open up blinds and draperies to make sure there’s sufficient natural light throughout the home and turn on lights before showings. Lighting is the most effective way to set a mood and we want a positvie/happy mood from prospective buyers.
4. Depersonalizing is very important.
Buyers can not imagin a cluttered home as their home and it gives the buyer the feeling that the home may be too small. They need to see your home, not your stuff. Excessive personal items like photos, collections, personal awards, electronics and collectibles will make it difficult for buyers to see past your personal style and may deter a sale. Taking yourself out of the picture makes it easier for buyers to imagine themselves, and their stuff, in your space.
5. Consider replacing furnishings.
Think about removing or replacing worn or outdated furnishings and get rid of extra pieces to make the home more spacious. The time has come to move beyond matching furniture, so break up your sets to make the home less dated. Consider consulting with a professional staging company for design direction. It may just be a matter of moving some of your pieces around.
6. Invest in new artwork.
Displaying new artwork is a great way to breathe new life into a room. Photography can be used to contemporize a room and add a splash of color as well.
7. Make repairs.
Todays buyers want a move in ready home. Repair squeaky doors, chipped or smudged paint as well as broken fixtures and fittings that you’ve neglected.
8. Apply a fresh coat of paint.
It’s the best bang for your buck that will quickly refresh a dull, dated room. Slap a fresh, neutral color on the space. Choose a beige or taupe for living spaces and a neutral green or blue for bathrooms.
9. Don’t forget the floors.
Get rid of worn carpets, and consider refinishing shabby hardwood floors. An inexpensive new area rug is a quick fix and can disguise the look of old floors.
10. Spring for new light fixtures.
Renew the look of the room by replacing old or dated light fixtures, door hardware, light switches and outlets. If it’s tacky and older than you, get it out of there.
