Staging 101

Staging as I said yesterday is one of the most important things you can do to boost the sale of your home.  Now you're probably wondering if I don't hire someone, can I stage it myself? 

Of course you can! Here are some of my tried and true staging tips:

1. Lose the Clutter-  Having too much stuff can make a room appear smaller than it really is. 
- Remove one piece of furniture from each room
- Remove 2-3 items from each set of book shelves
- Organize and give everything a place or throw it away!- don't stuff it in a closet- even they need to look good!
- Clean off kitchen counter tops- put all portable appliances away
- Clean off all bathroom counter tops
- Rent a storage unit if needed to remove some of the clutter from your house
   
2. De-Personalize- Take down your family photos, clean off the front of your refrigerater, put away sentimental knickknacks. Once you put your house on the market it is no longer yours.   Buyers don't want to feel like they are walking into someone's house and taking over, they want to envision themselves there. 

3. Neutralize- Tone down the bright colors!  Buyers these days are drawn to neutral wall color, neutral furniture, neutral accessories.  I'm not saying you have to go boring but maybe paint that neon green bedroom a nice taupe to appeal to more buyers. Ever seen a Pottery Barn catalog?  That's what most buyers want their dream home to look like

4. Re-purpose a Room- you might use it as junk room or a playroom but it's intended purpose is a dining room, so it's time to turn it back into a dining room.  Buyers have a hard time visualizing a room if it isn't being used for it's intended purpose.

5. Accessorize Properly- adding accesosories can change a room instantly.  Add decorative pills to a sofa or bed.  Cut and display fresh flowers on your dining or kitchen table.  Display art properly through out the house.   

6. Mini Facelifts- Don't have the money for major upgrades?  Don't worry little fixes can make a huge difference.
- Paint kitchen cabinets and add knobs
- Re-finish hardwood floors
- Paint beat up walls
- Replace outdated faucets, knobs, lights, etc

7.  Curb Appeal- the front of the house is the first thing buyers will see when they walk up is the front of the house so make a good impression
- Trim bushes
- Plant fresh flowers
- Have a new or in good condition welcome mat
- Power wash porch or steps as needed
- Paint front door and trim, and any shutters to match

8. Get rid of smells-  are you a smoker?  have a few cats or dogs?  After living in your own home for awhile you tend to not realize certain odors that may be living there, but trust me buyers will! 
If you've smoked in the house - stop immediately!!  Unless you're going to find buyers who are smokers (which is very rare these days) you're going to need to put in some work.  Most of the walls will need to be repainted and you're probably going to need new flooring just to get the smell out.  For animals try to keep litter boxes together in one area and clean them every day if needed. 

9. Visit Model Homes and Open Houses-  Need inspiration?  Not sure what colors match with what? Visit new construction model homes and open houses in your area.  It's important to try to envision your house the way that buyers do.  Models homes will give you the idea of how to make it feel inviting and homey without any personalized touches. Open Houses will either give you inspiration or will teach you what not to do!

10. Call a professional!  If this all sounds overwhelming or you don't know where to start, don't worry!  Talk to your real estate agent about helping you hire a home stager.  Many agents these days will even pay for a stager or part of the cost of one since they know just how important it is for a home to be staged.  

Once the home has been staged it must also be presented to each potential buyer in its best possible light! 

Before All Showings:
• Set the stage — Lights, music, action!
• Open all curtains and blinds.
• Turn on ALL lights and lamps.
• Put garage doors down.
• Put all toilet lids down.

Is Home Staging Really that Important?

YES! YES! YES!
When trying to sell your house, next to pricing staging is the most important thing.

Why might you ask?  Shouldn't people be willing to look past the clutter, personal photos, and knicknacks?  I mean it's my house, I have to live in it, why should I have to fix it up for other people?

 If that's how you think then let's look at a few questions:
 
-Would you buy a car that was dirty and full of someone else's trash?
-Would you buy a shirt that had a stain on the front or a big tear down the middle? 
-Would you pay for a hotel room that was dirty, full of trash, and had unmade sheets strewn across the bed?

Mostly likely you answered No to those 3 quesitons I posed above, because as a smart educated consumer you're not going to  pay for/purchase a product that isn't up to the standards you're expecting to receive.  Right?  So why should a potential buyer come into your home and love it despite the clutter, broken doors, and trash lying around?

Let's look at these photos below- which room are you more drawn to?

 Mosty likely you said the room on the right, isn't it amazing what just a few small changes can do! 

If you look closely you can see that they used pretty much everything that was already in the room, they just changed the flooring, added a rug, some accessories, and lighting and now the room has a whole new look!

Do you see the point?  When selling your home you only get one chance to make a first impression and it better be a good one.  Buyers these days are armed with more information than ever before thanks to the internet, so it's important that your home is staged and photographed to give off that correct first impression. 

Now let's look at the statistics, you can't deny the numbers!  

Homes	Avg. Days on Market
Unstaged	263
Staged	60

Homes that are staged sell in about two months while it can take unstaged homes up to 8 months to find a buyer that is willing to look past your mess and see potential!   Do you have time to wait 8 months for your house to sell?  At that point your dream house is probably gone!  

So which house do you want to be, the before house or the after house? 

Stay tuned tomorrow when I share my top Staging tips for selling your house. 

**Have a staging or real estate question?  Don't hesitate to contact me, I would love to help!**

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