Five Reasons Why Your Furniture Is Important When Selling Your Home.

Whether you're selling your home in Boca Raton, Florida or Boston, your furniture is important.  

Much has been said about DeCluttering when you sell your home.  It's a given.  The 2009 HomeGain Survey showed that Cleaning and DeCluttering gave the highest ROI (Return on investment, or bang for your buck) for DIY projects.  This was followed by Staging.  

People have also talked about furniture and its placement.  In fact, when people learn that I am a Home Stager, their response is often "Oh yes, you move furniture around!"

But look at your furniture and how it is important when selling your home from a different angle.

1. Size- Oh how we all love those over-stuffed chairs.  I have to admit, I was the proud owner of one that admittedly made me look like a Lily Tomlin skit.  (for those under a certain age, please Google Laugh-In/Lily Tomlin).   And, what about those of you who buy your furniture to fit in the house that you someday will own down the road, maybe.

 
      Sellers- your over stuffed, large, out of scale furniture is eating away at your equity!!!    
      Buyers will find it hard to see the space if they're trying to maneuver around your mega ottoman.  
      If you can (and if you want to sell your house in a timely manner, you will), edit your pieces and invest in a storage unit.  Most of these will rent month- to month and the small amount you pay will help buyers  see your home's potential.   If you can't bring yourself to store it. ask a friend or relative if they will babysit your furniture for a month or so.

2. Condition- Ok, we all use our furniture, and if there are pets or children in the house we really DO USE it.  But, if you have a piece that will probably not make the move to your new home and if it is in questionable condition, get rid of it.   Or you might consider a slip cover that will easily fit around your sofa or love seat and give it a fresh appearance.  
Why should this matter?  It really doesn't, except that  torn or badly worn furniture can be a distraction. It may keep a buyer from focusing on your space, and it also may signal to them that if you haven't cared for your furniture, what other projects have you neglected.

3. Style or Era-  If your furniture screams mid century, as in Leave it to Beaver, you might consider editing some of it.  I'm not saying you should go out and buy all new furniture.  Not at all. But if your house is in need of some updates to bring it into this millennium, then having really dated furniture or style specific furniture doesn't help.  Try bringing in a few contemporary pieces to give your home a fresh look.

4.  Amount- This is not the same as he who dies with the most toys wins,guys.  Many sellers make the mistake of thinking that just because they own or were given a piece of furniture that they have to keep it.  Doesn't matter to them that they really don't need it any longer or that it doesn't fit their lifestyle.  Store it, donate it or Craigslist it.  Just as over-sized furniture can eat away at equity, too much of it, no matter what size can prevent a buyer from seeing the room's potential.

5. Get it!- ok, now this is the opposite of #4.  If your house is vacant, furniture will help a buyer see how their own lifestyle might work in it.  If there is an unusually shaped room, placing furniture in it will show a buyer how it might be used and designed.   Something else to consider, if you have no furniture, ie end tables, there is no place on which to place lamps.  Lamps = light!  Very important to showing a home!

Staging is not about smoke and mirrors or covering up. Staging is showing your home's full potential.  Allowing a Buyer to see the space; see how it can be used and how it can appeal to a broad range of buyers is what Staging is all about.


    

  

 

 

Check out my about.me profile!

Room Service! Home Staging
Palm Beach County Home Stager

561-914-6224   Kathy@MrsHomeStaging.com
www.MrsHomeStaging.com