Trying to sell your home?
We found some great tips on staging your home straight from the professionals of the National Association of Realtors. Check out this article on their website:
http://www.realtor.org/library/library/fg303
Here are the Cliff’s Notes:
1. You want your home to feel “lived in” and “loved” but you don’t want to be a clutter bug. Take Coco Chanel’s advice and de-accessorize! Family photos are great but keep it down to a minimum. Get rid of some of the cheesier ‘dust catchers’ that you may have and create a sense of serenity and simplicity for those coming to view your home.
2. Keep the children’s’ toys at bay: Kids are FANTASTIC and it is always great to showcase that you have fantastic space for a family home, but you want to be sure that their Tyco and Playskool items are stored away in the proper fashion.
3. Clean out your closets! Everyone is looking for storage these days and they don’t want to see that you have held on to every shoe box you’ve ever owned and stuffed it into a closet. Showcase the space that you have by making it look like you have a lot of items stored with room to spare!
4. Make it comfortable: do not strip your home down to the bare bones and be uncomfortable in your surroundings. If you feel at home there, the prospective purchasers will too. You want the environment to feel warm, cozy and inviting!
5. Update your light fixtures and your faucets. If you haven’t changed these items in about 10 years your prospects will notice. Make sure that all of your accessories and fixtures are up-to-date to add an extra wow factor and set you apart from the competition!
6. FURNITURE: furnishing a space is key when selling your home. A prospective buyer needs to be able to see just how much room you have in your home and how their furniture can be used in the same space. There are plenty of companies to rent furniture from if you are lacking on a few pieces. Make sure these pieces are also up-to-date.
7. Neutral paint: you want to appeal to the masses so keep the bright pinks and seafoam greens to a minimum. A buyer wants to see themselves in that home and some people cannot look past the paint to envision themselves there. Do not let your taste in color be a distraction.
8. Use the Five Senses: When we go into a new territory and consider spending a large amount of time there, all of our senses tend to heighten. Make sure your home passes the test for all of them. Sight, sound, touch, taste (okay, maybe not as much) and SMELL. Bake those cookies, invest in a good candle, hire a cleaning service, whatever you need to do to make your home smell fresh…AND make sure that your pets aren’t sending the wrong signals to potential buyers!
Here are some pictures of homes that are well staged:
http://www.intconcepts.ca/homestaging.html
Fantastic use of lighting, minimal clutter, a great neutral color, and updated bedding
(more…)
