Home Staging for Quick Offers

As a real estate agent, I'm not not really expected to be a professional interior designer, landscaper, or architect (I hope). However, when listing a home, I offer to my clients a free home staging analysis so I can make your listing more appealing to potential home buyers and sell it more quickly—often for more money.

Conduct Some Research Before Listing You should look at the comparable's homes in your area to see what your home is up against. Additionally, tour model homes in new local neighborhoods. Often staged by professionals, these properties can give you an idea of what to change in your property.  Consider working with a staging specialist in your area.

Create Some Curb Appeal If the outside of the house looks rough, people are less likely to want to go inside. So make sure the exterior looks beautiful from the street—and that the color, decor, and style appeals to the general public’s standards, not specifically to yours. For example, paint that is too bold, mismatched or worn can turn people off, so you may need to go with a more neutral palette.

A major overhaul is hardly necessary, and often a fresh coat of paint or stain—relatively inexpensive improvements—can do wonders for improving curb appeal.

Make the Inside Ultra-Inviting Although curb appeal may be what gets people into the house, that moment when buyers first enter a home is what will keep them interested. If they don’t like what they see in those first few seconds, it can be very hard to overcome those negative feelings as they view the rest of the property.

While those feelings are often based on emotion, rather than logic, they are a challenge nonetheless, so keep your home company-ready, meaning that it is always clean and smelling fresh.

Rid Spaces of Clutter and Personal Belongings This one is often hard on sellers because I'm asking them to put away the things they love. That said, buyers want to be able to imagine living in the house. I strongly advise my  clients to store unnecessary and unused items in another location—not the attic, garage or basement, because potential buyers need to see those areas, too. Items sellers should stow away include:

• All but a few personal pictures
• Small appliances they don’t use regularly
• Excessive figurines, decorative pieces and keepsakes
• Toiletries from bathroom vanities and bedroom dressers
• Out-of-season clothing, outerwear and shoes from closets
• Holiday decorations and other rarely used items that may be taking up storage space

I'll be following up on this and other topics in the coming weeks ahead with advise on getting your home ready for market. 

In the meantime, feel free to leave comments below or contact me directly at dominick.leone@gmail.com (I will do my best to answer your emails quickly).

All the best.