As a professionally trained "Pemberton Holmes Home Specialist", let me help you with your home staging needs. Just give me a call or email me.
Here are just a few tips to get you started.
1. Remove The Clutter: Remember, the buyers want to see space, above anything else. You want the visitors to focus on the house and not on your stuff. A cluttered house gives the impression of being poorly maintained and looks smaller than it really is. Go through the house, room by room, and take everything out but the essentials. Decide what to throw out, what to donate and what to put in storage. Some areas to pay particular attention to:
- Floors: No piles on the floor anywhere. Pick up and store away any pet or kid’s toys
- Horizontal surfaces: Take everything off then put only a few items back. No knick knacks, photo displays, large collections, magazines, bottles/jars, small appliances and anything else that might distract the eye from the beautiful features of your property. Remember to clean the kitchen and bathroom countertops as well. If you have not used an item for three months or you can do without it for the next three; take it off and put it away.
- Book shelves: Put your books and magazines upright and in order.
- Closets: Every closet has to be cleaned out, maybe more than once, until they all look spacious and well organized.
- Furniture and wall hangings: Too much furniture impedes a good traffic flow in the house and makes it look smaller.
- Art and accessories: The same rule applies to art and accessories. If in doubt take them off and keep only one or two items per wall.
- Patio: Clear the clutter out of the patio, if you have one.
Look at every item with a very critical eye and ask yourself why you’re keeping it or why you’re displaying it.
Don’t neglect hallways. They lead potential buyers through your home and should be bright and clutter free. Remember you’re trying to maximize the feeling of space in your home.
Understand that how you live in your home and how you sell your house are two entirely different things. You’re going for a “show home” look.
2. Keep It Clean: Most of us can’t live in a spotless environment all the time. This can be one of the more stressful aspects of having your home on the market; but it’s worth the effort to sell your home for top dollar. You can hire a professional service to come in and deep clean everything; then take 20-30 minutes each day to maintain it.
Pay particular attention to the entrance, as it is the first space the visitors will see, then the kitchen, and bathrooms. Do not forget the walls and the ceilings (cobwebs!), windows, and appliances. If you have carpets and they have not been shampooed in more than a year, have them washed. Remember, if nothing else, your home should be spotless for the shows.
Appliances should sparkle even if you’re not including them with the house. After all, you might throw them in later as a negotiating tool. Counter tops, taps, sinks and bathtubs should be shiny and free of water spots. If you have a pedestal sink, don’t forget the dust that collects on top of the plumbing where it attaches to the wall. If the whole sink is spotless and the taps aren’t dripping, it will look new.
Dust shelves and vacuum the floors. All beds should be made. Simple things that are neglected makes one wonder what bigger things have also been neglected.
Remember clean windows let in more light and look newer. Hire a service if you have to; it’s worth the investment.
If all this attention to detail seems over the top, remember that a very clean home leaves the impression that the house is well cared for. This helps put buyers at ease; especially first time buyers who may be worried about the responsibilities of owning a house.
4. Let There Be Light: A bright home is a great home. So, open all the blinds and curtains and make sure there is sufficient light in every room. If needed; add fixtures, stand up or table lamps. You can never have too much light.
It might be mood lighting to you, but if you’re trying to sell your home, keep it bright. Dimly lit rooms tend to look small and dingy; especially during the day. If you have a particularly dark room, consider investing in a floor lamp that will bounce light off the ceiling. If your walls are so dark that they’re sucking up all the light, consider repainting. You can even buy a small can of a lighter shade of your wall color, mix it with glaze and rub it onto the wall. It will reflect light and give the room a more open feeling. This approach saves much of the preparation and clean up involved in repainting.
3. I Need Some Air: Open some windows for at least 10 minutes. There is nothing worse than walking into a stuffy house or one that smells of smoke or pet odours. Your home should have a neutral odour or a pleasing natural odour, like flowers on the dining room table.
5. Fix It Now: Fixing small but visible things is important. Chipped paint, loose or missing tiles, broken or loose door handles, a closet door that doesn’t quite close properly. All the little things you never had time to fix, unfortunately, can become a BIG turnoff for a potential buyer. After all, they probably don’t want to deal with the extra repairs while moving, unpacking and settling in. As well, it might make them wonder whether some other, more important things have been left uncared for in the house.
Ensure cupboards open and shut and that no taps are dripping. Look in all rooms for things you never got around to fixing and decide which ones might be distracting to potential buyers.
6. The Eyes Have It: Pay attention to where your eyes go to when walking through your home. There are speedy and low cost solutions to many of the little problems that together make a home seem shabbier than it needs to.
Walk along each corridor and into every room and check where your eye is drawn. Or have a friend or family member do a walk through.
If the eye is drawn to the chipped white paint on the door frame or wall, take some “white out” and fill it in. If it’s those old nail holes in the wall, see if you can hang a picture to cover them. If it’s really horrible and you can’t afford the time or money to fix it properly, hang pictures and strategically place baskets. You won’t cover the problem entirely, but you will draw your audience’s attention away from the problem and onto something more visually pleasing to focus on.
7. Say It With Flowers: You don’t need to spend a fortune to have fresh flowers throughout your home. Even a daisy in a bud vase brightens a bathroom counter. Ask your florist which blooms last a week. You can also use potted flowering plants that are in season for a low-cost solution. Don’t use plastic or obviously fake flowers - we will notice.
8. Mr. Music Please: If you are using music, this requires careful consideration. Soft background music can help create a soothing environment and camouflage neighbour and traffic noise. But make sure the volume is very low. Blaring TVs are definitely a no-no.
9. Space The Final Frontier: Space management optimization and proper furniture and accessories placement is essential. It will give your home a warm and appealing look and feel. For example, the living room furniture should be positioned so as to create a conversation area which will look toward the room’s focal point. A painting, a vase filled with decorative branches, or a bowl of lemons will bring ambiance to the room.
10. De-personalize: This tip tends to be a delicate one so I will explain it. The idea is to make your home as attractive to as many potential buyers as possible, as well as to have them concentrate on the HOUSE and not the personal stuff of the people living there.
The recommendation is to make the house as neutral as possible by taking off and storing any religious or political symbols, diplomas, abundant collections and knick knacks as well as photos of the whole family as they tend to distract from what you are selling, which is; a property and not a home.
An additional benefit in this process of “depersonalizing” your home will be to help you to get emotionally detached from it and prepare you for your sale and eventual move. |