Monthly I receive emails from Jefferson Livingston with Pillar to Post, a home inspection company. Below is a copy of the information he sent with tips on how to stage your home for sale.
Selling your home? Beyond the basics of completing needed repairs and addressing any issues revealed in your pre-listing home inspection, it’s also important to consider the effect your home’s appearance will have on prospective buyers. “Staging” a home should be thought of as creating an appealing but neutral space that will allow buyers to see the potential of your home. Naturally, it’s difficult to look at your own home objectively; it’s yours, after all. So consider enlisting a friend to help you evaluate your space, or you may wish to hire a professional home stager to make your home the star of the show.
Here are some tricks to consider:
Staging is more about subtraction than addition. A room stuffed full of furniture will looked smaller, crowded, and difficult to move around in. Ideally, only the basic furniture should remain in order to highlight the size of each room.
Get rid of clutter! Pack up your everyday items on table and dresser surfaces, knickknacks, magazines, electronics, etc. You want buyers to focus on your home, not on your “stuff”.
Remove personal items from view. While of course you love displaying your family’s photos and cherished mementos, they are a distraction for potential buyers. A buyer wants to be able to see themselves in the home and not feel as though they’re in someone else’s space.
Take everything off the kitchen counters and display a few cookbooks and a beautiful glass bowl of lemons instead. A bouquet of flowers - real or silk - on the dining table is a nice touch.
In bathrooms, get all of the clutter off the countertops and sink area. A few fluffy towels and attractive soaps can provide that “spa” feeling with minimal cost.
Be sure walls and flooring are clean and maintained. Paint any rooms where the walls are in bad shape as well as any that have strong, “polarizing” colors. A potential buyer might find your red dining room and the purple in your teen’s bedroom a real turnoff.
Have the exterior painted if its condition warrants improvement. As with interior paint, neutral colors work best.
A few large potted houseplants can soften a room and make it feel friendly and fresh.
Don’t forget the curb appeal of landscaping. Trim any overgrown bushes that may be blocking windows or walkways and remove any weeds. A few dollars’ worth of bright flowering plants can be charming when planted by a walkway, doorway, and mailbox.
Thank you Jefferson for the great information on staging your home.
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