Staging is different from interior decorating. Decorating is personalizing; Staging is de-cluttering and de-personalizing to help you sell your home. The way you live in your home and the way you sell your home are two completely different things. The key is to make your house look livable but not lived in.

“When buyers have a selection of homes to choose from, a staged or correctly presented home will generally sell faster and for more money than a competitor that doesn’t show as well,” ~ Bonnie Coen home stager at Prudential Locations LLC

Marketing and advertising will drive potential buyers to your house, but the house has to be ready to sell itself.

EXTERIOR

Curb Appeal – Houses with little to no landscaping in the front yard lose thousands of dollars instantly, in the minds of buyers. The same holds true for unruly and neglected landscaping.

• Weed Flowerbeds

• Plant bright new flowers if you are selling in the spring and summer.

• Put down fresh mulch

• Invest in a hose caddy for hoses laying on the ground

• Be sure that garbage receptacles are out of sight

Trees and Shrubs – If buyers can’t actually see your house from the street, their wont be much motivation to get out of the car. No foot traffic equals a tough sale. Don’t make buyers use their imagination. Trim shrubs and get rid of low-hanging tree branches. Raising tree canopies visually opens up the front of the house.

Power wash – Driveways, sidewalks and siding will accumulate mildew and stains over time. You will be amazed how much of that discoloration you can get rid of by simply using a pressure washer. Rent one for the day or hire a handyman to do the work for you. It makes a big difference.

Front Door and Entry – the lockbox is the first thing that agents and buyers interact with, so your front door is the first thing that they see. Freshly painted or stained front doors and polished or new door hardware is essential. Make sure that your front entry is clean and the walkway is inviting.

Garage – Its best for you to organize your garage in a manner that at least one vehicle can be parked inside. When the garage is so full of your personal belongings that you cannot park your car inside, it gives off the impression that the house is too small. When you are selling, your garage is not a storage facility. If you have more “stuff” than you know what to do with, start packing it in boxes and rent a storage space.  Without fail, buyers will check out the garage space.  Out of sight isn’t always out of mind.

INTERIOR

According to experts in the industry, buyers will decide within the first 90 seconds of stepping inside your home whether or not they are interested in buying it. If you have done your job and impressed the buyer with the curb appeal, make sure the interior is par for the course.

Use of Light – This is most important prior to actually showing your home to a prospective buyer. Open curtains, open blinds. Natural light is pleasing to the eye and helps accentuate your homes features and its flow.

Take the time to wash your windows both inside and out. If you don’t have the time, hire someone to do it for you. You will be surprised at the difference clean windows will make.

Use the maximum allowable bulb wattage in all light fixtures. A light and bright house is much more appealing.

De-Clutter and De-Personalize – If there is a cardinal rule to home presentation it is de-clutter. Clutter eats up equity. A cluttered home looks smaller and is more distracting to the buyer. As a rule of thumb, pack up 30-40% of your accessories and store, donate or get rid of 25% of your furniture. You want to create a sense of space and a blank canvass for buyers to paint in their minds. A garage sale is a great idea a few weeks before you put your house on the market.

As strange as it sounds, it is also recommended that you de-personalize your home. The goal is to sell the great features of your home and not the pictures on wall. If the buyer is distracted by photos, religious items or memorabilia, they may miss the beautiful wood floors beneath their feet.

Wallpaper and Paint Colors – For the most part, wallpaper is out. There is a rare exception. There are some versions of wall paper today that resemble paint or faux paint. An accent wall that is tastefully don’t is not a deal breaker. But, if your home has floral print or bold wallpaper, you should either make a change or adjust your price. Buyers will mentally start taking deductions the minute they see things that they will have to change after they move in.

A fresh coat of paint is the most cost efficient way to spruce up your home. However, paint colors should be neutral. Bold, eccentric paint colors are very personal in nature. If you are going to spend the time or the money painting, you want to appeal to as many potential buyers as possible.

Living Spaces – Move coffee tables and sofas away from walls. Envision a figure 8 or the letter H in the middle of the room with clear pathways to move about. This helps give your room a sense of space, flow and a designer look. People often move because they want more space. Make sure your house gives off the vibe to buyers.

Highlight the focal points of the room such as a fireplace.  Create an approachable scene.  If your living room flooring is tile or wood, use area rugs to anchor furniture in the space.

Mix It Up - Just because you bought a chair for a particular room doesn’t mean it won’t look great somewhere else. Try moving things around. You can give your house a whole new look just by moving things from room to room.

Continuity – Make sure that the accessories and knickknacks that you do use to decorate are of like kind when used in the same space. Tone down theme rooms if they are too overwhelming.

Plants and Greenery – Use them. You don’t have to use real plants, but stay away from silk flowers and the like.

Magazines, Newspapers & Remotes – Organize them. Wicker baskets are a great way to do this in an aesthetically pleasing manner.

Stage a Home Office – Home offices are no longer a luxury, they are a necessity. You do not necessarily have to have an extra room to serve as a study. Use a spare bedroom or an unused corner of a multi-purpose room. Help the buyer visualize a space that can be used for their home office purposes. Make sure that the space is in close proximity to cable and electrical outlets.

Search and Destroy Odors – Odors can come from any number of places, a cat’s litter box, a dirty oven, dog hair in the carpet. If a house has an odd odor, buyers aren’t buyin.’ As tough as it may be, ask someone you trust to give you an honest answer whether your home has a distinct odor. You can go to work on tackling the problem by removing pet toys, litter boxes, steam cleaning the carpets and scrubbing the kitchen. Don’t assume that potpourri is going to do the trick.

Kitchen

Put away dish towels and rags in a drawer after use.

Remove kitchen caddies with cooking utensils.

Reduce 2/3 of your cookbooks, cooking machines, and toasters by placing them in cabinets below.

Clean off all magnets, schedules, and artwork from the refrigerator.

Use fresh fruit in glass bowls for kitchen table or counter décor.

Keep kitchen cabinets organized. When viewing your house, buyers will open cabinets to check for depth and space. Throwing things in cabinets haphazardly to get them out of site is not a solution.

Add drawer pulls and cabinet hardware. This is an inexpensive way to visually enhance the appeal of your kitchen cabinets. Make sure that the finish that you choose for this hardware is consistent with door hardware and other kitchen décor.

Bathrooms

Along with Kitchens, bathrooms are the biggest selling point for homebuyers.

Remove all cosmetics and personal items from the counter or vanity top.

Bleach dingy and stained grout in the bathtub and shower.

Wipe down counters and clean mirrors. Make them sparkle.

Add some candles.

A nice new set of bathroom towels is an inexpensive way to dress up your bathroom. Make sure that you use colors that are consistent and complementary.

Match your bathroom rugs and shower curtains to the towel colors that you choose. If your shower curtain is plastic, most likely that is a shower liner, not a curtain. Invest in a shower curtain that matches your towels & bathroom colors.

Bedrooms

Your bed dressings; bed skirt, bedspread, and pillow colors should match or at least complement each other. Making your bed before showings is an absolute necessity.

Clear off the tops of your dresser.

Make sure that the size of your bed works well with the size of the room. If you have a king sized bed in a small room, swap it out with a smaller bed elsewhere in the house.

Install closet organizers. If you can’t keep your closet organized on your own, invest in a closet organizer system from Home Depot or Lowes. Don’t assume buyers can look beyond clutter and untidiness. Professional Home Stagers say that you should arrange your closet so as to leave 20% unused. It relays the message to buyers that the closets are bigger than they actually are.

* The information in this report was taken from a variety of sources, publications, and conversations with home staging consultants. The information contained in this report is meant to help you sell your home in a shorter period of time and for more money. I do not guarantee that if you follow these suggestions that your home will sell but I highly recommend that you read through this information and apply as much of it as possible Do what needs to be done and you will have an advantage over the competition.

Download this Free Report in pdf:  How to Prepare Your Home to Maximize Profit

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