I got a call from my daughter asking plaintively, Can you help my friend? I feel so bad for her. She has a cute house built in 2006 and she confided in me that the house has now been on the market with a Realtor for 356 days and ONLY six showings! Is there anything she can do? Of course, there's always something to do! The two variables that an owner has complete control over are the price and the condition. The easiest and the simplest to do FIRST is to enhance the condition with home staging.
The way buyers evaluate a home on the Internet is through the photos and the simplest place to start is to see if the photos can be enhanced. With buyers making decisions based on the photos that they see, one needs to evaluate the photos and take new ones if they don't showcase your home.
After viewing the current MLS photos, here are some of the suggestions (ten of them) I discussed with the owner to enhance the marketing of her home.
1. Trim the front bushes to open up the view of the front door.
2. Showcase the Fireplace. Remove the small decor pieces and replace with one painting over the fireplace proportionate to the wall space. Pull the couch out to create cozier conversation group around the fireplace.
3. Living Room - Use a smaller area rug to showcase the hardwood floors.
4. Dining Room - Remove 2 of the six chairs to showcase size of room. If you have a round table somewhere, change out the rectangular table with a round table.
5. Living Room - Create a conversation group inside the photo with at least two easy chairs and a small table and a lamp.
6. Include a Master Bedroom Photo.
8. Show one of the bedrooms as a child's room with a twin bed in it. A blowup mattress can make a bed.
9. Pull the office desk to the middle of the room and remove everything else that does not relate to being an office.
10. Get a patio umbrella table for the Flagstone Patio and surround with pots of colorful flowers.
As you can see there is plenty a homeowner can do with little to no investment. I will keep you posted as to the success of this one.
This is an abbreviated example of a professional home staging consultation. I also do written consultations that contain complete step-by-step directions for each room. FOR YOUR HOME STAGING CONSULTATION, CALL 325-721-2429.
Here's a before and after of a living room that I helped another homeowner.
This is the living before enhancement with furniture rearrangement and a rug and curtains were changed out! HERE"S BEFORE:
AFTER!
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