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3 Step Home Staging - Keep It Simple!

By
Real Estate Agent with The Maine Real Estate Network

The Golden Rules of Home Staging

Yes, staging a home well can make the difference between successfully selling and not selling.  It can be the key to getting the best price for your home!

Many clients ask us what projects they could do in their home to increase the value or help them to sell.  Before you take on large or costly renovations that you will not get to enjoy - start with the basics.  Save the more involved projects for your next home so that you will be able to enjoy them for years.

There are 3 simple steps you can take to help sell your home!

1.  Purge

2.  Clean

3.  Touch Up

This may sound too simplistic, but please read on.  Sometimes the simple answer is the best one!  I am constantly amazed at the condition of some homes on the market.  When a buyer walks into a cluttered home, they assume it is too small.  When they walk into a dirty or messy home, they assume the sellers have not properly maintained the home.  When they walk into a home with unfinished projects, they assume the home requires too much time to maintain.  These assumptions may not be true, but the potential buyer may not stick around long enough to find out.

Sellers often make the assumption that buyers will "see the potential."  When the reality is that you need to show it to them.  Many sellers understandably have an emotional attachment to their home.  They may have already put a lot of work into it and greatly improved the property during the time they have owned it.  However, potential buyers may not know this and may not care.  They will simply be comparing your home to the others they are looking at.  They will look at the surface level reality of your home.  It can be difficult to see the potential of a property when you are distracted by the dirty dishes in the sink, stuffed closets, walls full of personal family photos, or have to awkwardly step around furniture in an overloaded room.

There may be some homes that require more involved renovation projects to prepare them for sale, but the vast majority could benefit from these 3 rules.

1.  PURGE:   We can amaze ourselves with the amount of items we collect over time.  You are going to be moving anyway, so before you start packing, go through your stuff!  Take it one room at a time and begin to sort through those boxes, stacks of paper, & closet shelves.  Hold a garage sale to help pay your moving costs and then donate all of the left over items to a thrift store.  You will not only feel less burdened down by your belongings when you have finished, but you will be saving yourself even more in moving costs.  Why pay to move items that you are really not that attached to anyway?

Once you have gotten rid of items that you really do not need to keep, then begin your packing.  Starting with your personal photos and keepsakes.  You want buyers to see themselves in your home.  This is easier to do when the home is not riddled with photos and knick knacks.  This will also protect your more precious belongings from any accidental breakage while your home is on the market.

If you have too much furniture in your home, but do not want to part with it, consider renting a storage unit.  This can be money well spent if it enables you to sell your home in one month rather than 6!  Perhaps you have a friend or family member with extra room in their garage.  Be creative, this is one of those instances when less really is more!

2.  CLEAN:   Clean and then clean some more.  A neat and tidy home sends the instant message to potential buyers that you care about your home.  They often assume that a clean home has also been meticulously maintained, whether it has or not.  Clear out closets, wash the windows inside & out, move the furniture and vaccuum all of the corners.  Yes, potential buyers really do look in closets and cupboards!  Organize your kitchen cabinets, clear off those countertops, remove EVERYTHING accept your brokers business card from your refrigerator and don't forget about the top of your fridge!  This gives potential buyers the impression that you have plenty of storage in your kitchen.   One commonly overlooked area is the cupboard under your sink.  This can be a telling sign of deferred home maintenance.  Clean it out.  Wipe down the drain pipes, and add shelf liner paper if necessary.  -I think you get the idea.  Just take it one room at a time.

3.  Touch Up!:  Take a moment to look around your home for any unfinished projects.  Most of us get so busy with life that we don't even realize some of the things we have left undone.  Do all of your light switches and electrical outlets have covers?  Do they need cleaning or replacing?  Even the cheapest 10 cent plastic outlet cover will look better than a gaudy or dirty one.  Do you have marks on the walls?  Those Mr. Clean eraser things really do work wonders.  -And let's all have a round of applause for whoever invented washable crayons!  Paint if necessary (this can be one of the least expensive ways to freshen up a room.)  If the carpets look tired, rent one of those steam cleaners.   Don't forget about your front entry.  Sweep away leaves, dirt, and debris.  Add a new spiffy door mat, touch up trim paint as needed.

I hope these ideas have been helpful.  Look for more installments from

The Tanya Busch Team, Keller Williams Realty Mid Maine

34 Center Street    Auburn, ME 04210        207-689-9880

info@TanyaB.com                   www.TanyaB.com

best maine realtor

Posted by

The Tanya Busch Team

The Maine Real Estate Network

207-689-9880

www.tanyab.com

 

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