Staging to Sell Your Home

Staging To Sell Your Home

Terri Schneider

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taging ultimately benefits the seller. A well-dressed, sparkling house can garner lots of attention, and potentially sell very quickly. This is true regardless of whether the market is cold or hot. In a cold market, buyers don’t have to settle for anything less than the best.

Why should they spend time and money fixing up a distressed home when a staged house looks great and is move-in ready? In a hot market, buyers can go into feeding-frenzy mode, focusing on the hot property of the week and ignoring the others. So you want your property

Before and After Pictures of Staging

Tip 1: Grab Them From the Curb

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ake these potential buyers fall in love with your home from the street by adding potted plants and flowers, power-washing patios and walkways, weeding the garden and mowing the lawn. It’s your first chance to make a good impression, so you’ve got to make it count. Make your home inviting so they will want to come in!

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hat Home Stagers Do A home stager is similar to an interior decorator -- with expertise in planning and choosing colors, fabrics, and furniture, and arranging them all in a way that makes your home look its best.

But a good home stager brings a few extra things to the mix. The stager is not focused on creating a home that suits your personal taste and need for everyday comforts, but instead on making your home appeal to a broad range of tastes. Livable or not -- probably not, after you’ve hidden the toaster, toothpaste, and laundry hamper -- the idea is for the stager’s work to help people fall in love with your place and want to buy it.

Tip 2: Make it Sparkle

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retend that your mother or mother-in-law is coming for a visit. Think hotel clean. Mop, dust, vacuum, wash windows, baseboards — even the cat. Remember that people will look in your cupboards, under your sinks and in your closets. Also, pay particular attention to odors. You might even consider consulting a neutral nose by having a friend come by for a smell test.

Y Tip 3: Pay Attention to Color and Light

ou may love hot pink in the living room, but too-bright colors turn buyers off. Neutralize strong colors for the broadest appeal. A neutral home appears larger and has less chance of offending someone. Also, open up blinds and draperies to make sure there’s sufficient natural light throughout the home. Remember, lighting is the most effective way to set a mood.

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ore specifically, here’s what a stager might do to get your house ready for sale:

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hey will examine your home from top to bottom, and explain what should be done to get it ready. Together, you and the stager can review the recommendations and costs, and develop a plan of action. Identify specific ways to highlight your home’s best features and compensate for its shortcomings. For example, the stager might recommend removing curtains from a window that has a great view; or, in a small bedroom, replacing the double bed with a twin or even a baby’s crib, in order to make the space look larger.

Don’t #1: Don’t take it personally. As soon as you decide to make the commitment to sell your home, you need to think of it as a product, one that you want to sell fast and for top dollar. Don’t take buyers’ remarks personally. Instead, think of it as free advice on how to make your product live up to its highest potential. Emotionally

F Tip 4: Depersonalize

ew things deter buyers more than a cluttered home. They need to see your home, not your stuff. Excessive personal items like photos, collections, personal awards, electronics and collectibles will make it difficult for buyers to see past your personal style and may deter a sale.

Taking yourself out of the picture makes it easier for buyers to imagine themselves, and their stuff, in your space

T Tip 5: Consider Replacing Furniture

hink about removing or replacing worn or outdated furnishings and get rid of extra pieces. The time has come to move beyond matching furniture, so break up your sets; dated can easily become eclectic with editing and rearranging. Consider consulting with a professional staging company for design direction and advice on rental furnishings to create an inviting home with broad appeal to a wide range of buyers.

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tagers may recommend which items of your furniture and household possessions should stay in the house and which should be removed before an open house or showing. Be prepared to have to either move or place into storage the majority of your possessions, so as to de-clutter and depersonalize your house. This will, of course, be much easier if you’ve already moved into your next abode.

They will help you arrange for recommended repairs or other major work on your home -- by lining up contractors, carpenters, painters, and landscapers, and overseeing their work. (You’ll normally pay their bills separately, however.)

Tip 6: Invest in New Artwork

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isplaying new artwork is a great way to breathe new life into a room.

Photography can be used to contemporize a room and add a splash of color as well.

Don’t #2: Don’t do major renovations. Finishes and fixtures that you see as beautiful may not suit every buyer’s tastes. It is best to limit the amount of time and investment you make on renovations to the essentials — replace old flooring, tackle small repairs, paint, change outdated fixtures.

Save your renovation energy and dollars for your new home

Tip7: Apply a Fresh Coat of Paint

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t’s the best bang for your buck that will quickly refresh a dull, dated room. Slap a fresh, neutral color on the space. Choose a beige or taupe for living spaces and a neutral green or blue for bathrooms.

Tip 8: Don’t Forget the Floors

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et rid of worn carpets, and consider refinishing shabby hardwood floors. An inexpensive new area rug is a quick fix and can disguise the look of old floors.

Dont #3: Don’t think the house will sell itself. The real estate market is a game. You need to make your home the most appealing product on the block. Declutter, clean, do small repairs, repaint and, in general, make it feel fresh and welcoming.

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tagers will bring in furniture, art work, curtains, carpets, pillows, and even artful-yet-homey objects like a bowl of oranges (either real or high-quality fakes!), potted orchids, and a welcoming doormat. Many stagers keep warehouses of this stuff, all carefully matched and chosen to make your house feel like a place where people can live their dream life.

Tip 9: Spring for New Light Fixtures

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enew the look of the room by replacing old or dated light fixtures, door hardware, light switches and outlets. If it’s tacky and older than you, get it out of there.

Don’t #4: Don’t run out and purchase all new furniture. Chances are the furniture you have is not the reason your space is not selling. You may just have too much of it in one area. Or perhaps it needs to be cleaned or just neutralized with a simple throw. Remove before you completely redo.

Don’t #5: Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Call in a professional stager, whether they just spend a few hours giving you some helpful tips or they come in to completely redecorate your entire space.

It is money well spent and will eventually end up back in your pocket when you sell your home for top dollar.

Terri Schneider Oregon Broker 503-915-5093 Terrischneider@kw.com www.kimchildsteam.com

7504 SW Bridgeport Rd. Portland OR 97224