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Selling? How To Get Your Home Into Someone's Virtual Shopping Cart.

By
Home Stager with Dezigner Digz

 

                           BEFORE                                                                   AFTER

Well, actually you can't buy a home like that, however, the point is that today's buyer has made a decision on your property before even seeing it in person.  Especially if that decision is to skip your home and go on to the next one.  Most people will view your home over the internet before ever setting foot through the door.  Their first impression of your property is made through a computer monitor.

What can you do before listing your home to grab the attention of buyers and leave them wanting to see more?

Here are a few suggestions:

-Make sure that your home is spotless.  Clean your home from top to bottom and once you are finished, clean it again - windows too.  If you don't have the time or inclination to do that, hire a professional cleaning service to come in and do it for you. 

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-Ensure that there are no items in need of repair such as loose door handles, squeaky hinges, burned out light bulbs, scuffed walls - and the list goes on.

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-Depersonalize each room by removing family photos.  Take down that picture of Granny's valiant attempt at the pie eating contest. Trust me, no one else needs to see that.

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-Remove clutter and put away your collections.  You want people to look at your home, not the countries you have visited to attain your impressive spoon collection. 

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-Take photos of each room in your home from various angles.  Then, take a critical look at them.  You may find it easier to step back and assess the situation this way, as it is very hard to be objective with your own space.  If something doesn't look quite right to you in the photos or just looks out of place, chances are others will think so too. 

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-Make sure each room is set up for its intended purpose.  An empty bedroom looks smaller.  Some buyers will have trouble visualizing their furniture in there if they don't have something to go by. 

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-Have a detailed, room-by-room consultation report prepared by a professional Home Stager.  This report will assist you in determing what areas of your home need special attention.  Home Stagers are about more than just depersonalizing and decluttering.  You will also be advised on issues such as paint colours, flooring options and worthwhile upgrades that will help you get the best return on your investment.

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-Maintain the appearance of your home once you have prepared it for sale.  This can be hard, especially if you have small children or pets, but it is crucial if you want your home to stand out from the rest.

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One last thing which is VERY important.  If your MLS photos were taken before your home was fully prepared for sale, insist that your agent have the photos re-taken.  If your home was prepared professionally by a Home Stager, he or she may be able to offer your agent the updated photos.  Some Home Stagers provide that service.  There is little point in having your home staged if potential buyers are still going to see the old photos on the internet.  This goes back to the whole theme of this blog - catching the buyer's attention at their computer monitor.  If your photos are not updated, you could be missing out! 

 

Dezigner Digz is a home staging and interior decorating company located in Burlington, Ontario and servicing Ancaster, Hamilton, Aldershot, Burlington, Stoney Creek, Bronte, Oakville, Milton and surrounding areas.  Visit us at www.dezignerdigz.com for more information on how we can help you. 

Comments (13)

Sylvie Dolley
My Home Group Real Estate LLC - Litchfield Park, AZ
CHMS, ePRO, SFR Phoenix Arizona Real Estate 602-32

Great Posts!  Thanks!

 

Take Caer & good Luck in '08!

Apr 17, 2008 12:45 PM
Cape Coral Florida Golf Course and Waterfront Homes
Gulf Coast Realty Network, Inc. - Cape Coral, FL

For Realtors taking room photos.....
1.  Get a magnetic clip-on wideangle lens for the digital camera.  don't use the clipon type as they might burn up the motor when the lens tries to withdraw into the camera on shutdown.
2.  Buy an inexpensive portable halogen worklight at Lowes or HD. It adds a warmth to pictures and your buyers think you are a real Pro!
JimG

Apr 17, 2008 12:47 PM
Kathy Passarette
Creative Home Expressions - Mount Sinai, NY
L.I. Staging/Decorating
Charlene ~ This was excellent!  I liked everything from the tips to the way you laid it out (very easy to read).  The last point you make about the pictures is very important, make sure the "good" pictures are what potential buyers are seeing.
Apr 17, 2008 12:54 PM
Alicia Barrington
THE ORIGINAL HOUSTON HOME STAGING - Katy, TX
Houston Home Staging Presents Alicia Barrington

Another little tip that I learned the hard way: make sure that the floral treatments in the photos are seasonally appropriate.   Many home owners purchase one floral arrangement and it stays on the table year round.   But orange fall floral, showing on a tabletop in May, sends a subliminal signal to the potential buyer.

Just as exterior photos should be updated as the seasons change (nothing worse than seeing a house with snow on the ground, when you're looking on-line in August).   So if your listings are still hanging around, suggest to the Seller or the Realtor that a seasonal refreshing of the photos might find a buyer more quickly!

Happy Staging Y'all!

Apr 17, 2008 12:57 PM
Pam Joffe
Solaris Realty - Tampa, FL
Charlene - Thanks for all the great tips, I also agree with Tom's suggestion about keeping the home pictures updated.
Apr 17, 2008 01:17 PM
Tori Lynn Wallitsch
Prudential Ambassador / Ross Designs, LLC - Omaha, NE

Great reminder about HOW IMPORTANT it is to have great photos and therefore Staging is also of utmost importance.

Apr 17, 2008 01:53 PM
Amy Prouty
Home Staging - Keno, YN
Great post! Everyone needs to be reminded of this.
Apr 17, 2008 02:13 PM
Sasha Miletic - Windsor Real Estate
RE/MAX Preferred Realty Ltd. - Windsor, ON

Thanks for your great post. As Tom and Pam said we got to update the home pictures updated as I have come across many blogs on the same.

Best - Sash

PS: FREE blog traffic strategy video...click here

Apr 17, 2008 03:01 PM
Cathy Lee
CL Design Services Home Staging - Danville, CA
ASP, IAHSP, RESA Danville, CA
What a marvelous post! 
Apr 17, 2008 05:07 PM
Charlene Storozuk
Dezigner Digz - Burlington, ON
Home Stager - Burlington Ontario

Sylvie - Thank you!  Good luck to you in '08 also.

Jim - Great photo tips.  I didn't know that you could get magnetic clip-on wide angle lenses.  You're the second person that has mentioned to me about using a portable worklight for taking photos.  I thought it was a great idea then and meant to buy one, but forgot about it.  Thanks for mentioning that, I'm going to go out and buy one this week - or, add it to my 'to do' list so that I don't forget again! 

Kathy - It really is important to make sure that your photos are updated.  Thanks for commenting!

Tom - EXCELLENT points!  Especially about changing seasonal floral arrangements.  I'm sure that is something that a lot of home owners would overlook.  Thanks for adding your suggestions. 

Pam - You're welcome.  Tom's suggestions were great.

Tori Lynn - Staging and great photos are VERY important.  You need to grab the buyers attention before they even come and see the property in person.

Amy - Thank you! 

Sasha - You're welcome.  It is a very important blog topic.

Cathy - Thank you so much!

Apr 21, 2008 05:11 AM
Kathy Clulow
Uxbridge, ON
Trusted For Experience - Respected For Results
Charlene -Interesting that I should read this today - I was just out yesterday taking exterior shots with "GREEN GRASS" instead of snow. We've had heavy frost for two nights now and then today little flakes of the white stuff started to fall again. Thank goodness it did not last
Apr 30, 2008 09:52 AM
Denise Allen
Resh Realty Group - Chesapeake, VA
Realtor@ Chesapeake, Hampton Roads

Real estate agents often don't go back to do pictures once they are taken.  I guess it is laziness maybe?

Apr 30, 2008 10:09 AM
Charlene Storozuk
Dezigner Digz - Burlington, ON
Home Stager - Burlington Ontario

Kathy - That's very smart to re-take your exterior photos when the season changes.  When you see photos of homes on the MLS at this time of year that still show snow, those homes just scream "Look at me, I've been on the market forever!". 

Denise - I think it's really important to re-take the photos.  I'm not sure why some agents don't.  They are really missing out by not doing that (their clients are missing out even more).

May 05, 2008 05:26 AM