Staging Your Home for Sale

When you are selling your home you have to think like a buyer not a seller. What will the buyers see when they pull up to your home? What will they see when they walk into your home and what will they smell? You want your house to stand out from all the competition for good reasons not bad reasons.

First of all, when deciding on a price I made sure that I personally went to Open Houses that were in my area. I went to the ones that were in the price range I was considering. I looked at every detail and compared, size, acreage, landscaping, curb appeal, rooms, layout, kitchens and bathrooms, basements and garages. Although my real estate representative had some good input. The realtors want to move your property as quickly as possible and a loss for you price wise doesn't give them much of a hit percentage wise. They have an agenda. They want your hous sold immediately or sooner. Price your house competitively if you want it sold. The longer it's on the market the less interest it will generate but you also want to get fair value.

You can look up your local realtors and ask for the top salesperson. Now about showing your house off at it's best. Get ebverything you can done before putting it on themarket. Staging also means everything being up to snuff. I got all the water tests, septic examination, well testing, power washing, window washing, deck repairs and more done before I put my house on the market. The I prepared for the actual staging. A very important element.

Now take a good , hard objective look at EVERYTHING in your house. Make sure your lawn and landscaping are neat, clean, trimmed properly. Get rid of anything old and dead. Put some seasonal flowers in planters at the doors. Curb appeal is important. Make sure lighting fixtures are celan , no bugs, no cob webs. Power wash your siding if necessary.You can hire someone to do this or rent a power washer. Make sure steps are not cracked and walkways that lead to your home and are clean and up to snuff.

The front door, mail box and numbers marking your home should be fresh looking. Put an inviting door mat by the front door and any other doors. If the outside looks neglected people will assume the inside is as well.

As soon as someone walks in they should be treated to a pleasant scent,nothing overwhelming. There are products on the market that give off a scsent every 15 or 30 minutes made by Air Wick and other companies and they will last for months. You can purchase a few of these and place them discreetly in your rooms.. You can sprinkle carpets with Carpet Fresh.

If you have a front hall make sure nothing is cluttering it up. When people are coming turn every light on and adjust blinds so they get light and a good view. Pack away any personal collections, photos, extraneous junk. Counters, table tops, mantels should be staged as well. Simple, clean but with a fw decorative items.

People will look inside your closets. Pack away as much as possible and organize whatever is left. You want the closet to look big. You can purchase adorable hat boxes, great shelf paper and the like to hide any smaller items of clothing. You can make sure the closets have good lighting. All my hangers match and clothing is lined up by color and item, pants, blouses, dresses etc. Shoes are in compartments aimed at shoe storage that I purchase from Target. Tuck a few sachets around so the closet smells pleasant.

Basements and garages should be clean and organized. Tools hung up, shelves neatened up. Even if you have to store things with friends and family. Less is more.

The anti clutter theme goes for every room, especially the kitchen. Out of sight is the motto. Bascially empty counters. No bric a brac. What is cute and sentimental to you is not appealing to others. Many people suggest baking something but this isn't always possible. Fresh coffee brewing can smell nice too but again, I go for those fresheners that spray on a regular basis in the other rooms and I just make sure the sink and counters are freshly wiped down.

If you have pets it's important to make sure there are no litter boxes if possible or at least make sure they are freshened up. I would put them in the garage or basement temporarily. I make sure the dogs are out of the house even if it means stashing them in the car while people walk around if the weather permits. I wash my dog beds frequently.

For wood work, cabinets and furniture in general there are paint pens available in every wood tone that you can use to touch up dings and scratches with. Wall color should be simple, calming, not crazy. Neutral colors that will appeal to everyone. Paint is a very inexpensive way to update a room.

I make sure every window is sparkling clean. For that I hired people. Window treatments should be appealing, no broken blinds.

Pare down your furniture. Your rooms will look bigger.

For the Master Bedroom I made sure the bed set was fresh with some nice matching throw pillows, nothing flat, old, worn or iffy looking. That goes for towels in the bathrooms and bath mats. Make sure your tub is sparkling. Zud is great for stains. You almost want it to look like a great hotel room.

If you are already partially packed store your boxes on shelves in the basement or garage. Here's a packing tip. Keep a sheet listing every box by number and what the contents are. Each box should show a number, the room it's meant for and a minimal description of the contents i.e. Box #1 decorative items, Living Room.

Think about how rooms look in furniture stores. That's how you want your rooms to look. Fresh, clean, appealing, uncluttered and attractive.

If you have children and a toy room you would be surprised at how little they really need to play with. Pack as much as you can away. Believe me the children will manage just fine.

Staging will help get your house sold and for a price that will make everyone happy.