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10 TIPS For Staging Your Home with Little or Nothing

Cats

 

Have you ever gone through listings on MLS or Zillow and thought to yourself, “What the heak are those sellers thinking listing their home like that?” I know I have, a lot. However, I am a professional stager. I turn dumps into dreams. Of course, that’s the worst case scenario. For the majority of homeowners, we have done the unthinkable….we have turned our house into a home. By this, I mean we have put up personal photos, painted our bedroom our favorite shade of fuchsia and surrounded ourselves with our ABSOLUTELY ADORED collection of purple dragon figurines. Now, you have decided to sell. After living in a house for however many years, we become blind to what may automatically turn off the average buyer. If you follow these simple rules that I use on a regular basis, you can’t fail. At least you got your house within a little or nothing budget as perfect to sell as humanly possible. Sometimes, that all we can do or all we should do from a financial stand point. Here are things you can do (depending on the state of things) in a weekend if you want. The end goal is to create a home which will appeal to as many buyers tastes as possible. If they want to paint the kitchen bright blue, then they can. The more personalized your home is to your tastes, the more you limit your scope of buyers.

1. If your gut is telling you that should remove it, paint it, fix it, replace it… then you should. The goal is to give the buyer every reason possible to LOVE your home. Do this within financial reason. If you don’t like your granite counter tops and want to replace them, consult with your agent about what the real ROI is going to be.

2. Walls should be neutral. By this I mean- taupe, beige, grey or white. These colors are timeless and classic. These will appeal to the buyer who won’t buy a home because they don’t like the paint color in the bedroom. It’s ridiculous, I know. But they are out there.

3. Remove ALL personal/ family photos. This can be emotionally straining, especially if your kids grew up in that house etc… But letting go is part of the process and you can do it. When a buyer walks in and sees a huge portrait of your beautiful children front and center, they are going to be turned off and distracted. The purpose of staging is to make it possible for the buyer picture themselves living there. If it’s clearly someone else’s home, then they won’t be able to picture it.

4. Remove everything off the floor that is not furniture. Got the office with papers stacked up (however neatly) next to the desk? Get rid of it. Got faux sunflower arrangement surrounding your fireplace? Get rid of it. Having space for the buyer to move around during showings is critical. Pay attention to house plants that are too huge in a tiny space. We want the buyer to move with ease around the home and see the features of the house, not the stuff.

6. Remove all items of flat surfaces (desks, kitchen countertops, bathroom vanities etc…) that would wouldn’t see in a home store catalog. Flip through Pottery Barn or Crate and Barrel. Get ideas from there about what accessories to keep and how to arrange them nicely.

7. CLUTTER IS BAD. BAD. BAD. Remove everything that is filling up corners, shelving, bookcases, night stands, closets etc…Be sure that during showings the buyer will open closets, cabinets and pantries! A buyer is going to be turned off by clutter. Go into a model home and get ideas. You want your house to look like a model. The secret there is that it looks like a home, but depersonalized, clean and clutter free. Think of it this way, you will have to go through and pack it all up anyway. Just get it over with BEFORE you list and I can guarantee this will make the move a TON less stressful.

8. CLEAN, CLEAN, CLEAN. If the house is dirty, forget it. Spend the time to clean. Wash windows, professionally clean carpets, dust everywhere, make sure Fido didn’t have any accident behind the door in the guest room where you never look. Make sure all your light bulbs are functional and highest wattage possible, get rid of the cobwebs on the front porch, and scrub the showers and toilets. You get the idea.

9. TONE DOWN THE KID’S ROOM. If you have decals of Hello Kitty literally covering the walls in your little girls’ room, tone it down. It’s ok to have a kid room, just keep the kid factor to a minimum. Try and pack up toys and clear as much off the floor as possible.

10. Restrain your pets. If you can take your pet with you during showings, do it. Minimize the pet presence. Air out the house, pick up the dog toys, HIDE THE CAT BOX! Move the monster size dog crate to the garage if you can. Dogs are awesome, cats are the bomb, but not everyone wants pet smells, accidents, etc. left for them to deal with or the box of Claritin they might need after the showing. And if they see it, that’s what they are going to think.

In closing, if you follow these simple rules and ask your agent for all the advice you can think of, you will be OK. “A moment of pain is worth a lifetime of glory”. Well, at lease a nice lining for your wallet.