Home Staging Tips
Advice on selling your home faster - where to invest
1. Neutalize your home – help the home buyer see themselves in the home
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This means go neutral in the colors (floors, walls, bedding, window treatments)
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Declutter – it makes the space look larger and better. Put it into storage, if you need to.
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Eliminate personal pictures and/or artwork that might be polarizing
2. Clean and deodorize - believe me, you can't smell it, but your potential buyers can!
- Clean, clean, clean - and keep it that way
- This can be a major turn off for many buyers; and, it's a signal as to how well you've maintained your home
- Make your home show room ready - always. (try to avoid 24 hr notice...all this will do is limit showings and potential buyers
- Get rid of the smells...and have someone else who you trust give you honest feedback...because you have become accustomed to your home's smells
- If you can't get rid of the smells from carpet, fabrics, etc, either replace them or remove them. (or if you have to mask them w/ other smells (e.g. glade plug ins).
- Get rid of pet odors. Believe me, I love pets, and I know you love yours, but your potential buyer does. Clean the kitty litter often; if they've peed in the carpet, you pretty much need to remove or replace it. Usually, it's soaked through to the carpet pad - even the best carpet cleaners can't help you there.
3. Declutter - Yes, less is more!
- Decluttering makes your space look larger and more inviting
- Less mess = less stress (we can all use that, right?)
- It's a signal as to how well you home is maintained
- Strive to remove at least 1 piece of furniture for each room
4. Add hardwood or refinish your floors - it has been shown to increase your home’s value 11%
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If you can afford it, go for it – you will get your money back
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If you have carpet under your hardwood, by all means leverage your assets. Rip up that carpet and sand & refinish. It’s a no brainer. You will more than get your money back and reduce your time in the market.
- It's less expensive to refinish hardwood than replace it with carpet. It will help you sell at a higher value and faster, so yes, this is a no brainer.
5. If funds are limited, here are some “must do’s”…items you probably need to do and are a good investment
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Sand & Refinish your hardwood floors. Potential buyers always overestimate how much it will cost to do and you don’t need them deducting this from their offer price.
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Paint – light, neutral colors. It will make the space look larger and better. Remove wall paper; paint over polarizing colors.
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Raggedy and/or smelly carpet. Go light and neutral in color. If it's in good shape, get it professionally cleaned, but if it's not, get rid of it or replace it.
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Repair work – esp the stuff you can see
6. Get a GREAT realtor. Not all realtors are created equal. Look at the stats and look for the real go-getters. It’s more important now than ever. Here are some that I that I HIGHLY recommend. Ask them about their ratio of listing price vs. closed price. This will give you a good sense as to how well they know the market and if they are telling you the really reallies or just telling you what you want to hear.
7. Bring in a professional stager - it's worth the investment - believe me. They’ll tell you what you really need to do – they tell it like it is. Their main goal is to get your house sold FASTER. Try Sheila Black at Home Highlighting. I’ve worked with her on a few homes that sold within 2 weeks! She is a rock star. She'll tell you where to spend/where not to. Home Highlighting 914-831-7341 (homehighlighting.com). In the end, she will save you money and get your home sold faster and at a higher value.
For other great resources related to selling or buying a home...stager, inspector, organizer/declutter, carpet cleaner, movers, mortgage brokers, real estate attorneys, title agents, inspectors, appraisers
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