You want to fill your home with light from various sources when you sell your house.
But first, a few home staging fundamentals...
You live with your home in a completely different way when it is on the market, compared to your normal way of life. You STAGE your home for the buyer's eye, and that means making changes to your home.
For one thing, you want to rid your home of clutter and excess furniture. If your REALTOR is skilled at staging, she or he will help you choose which items need to be packed away, and where you want to pack your things.
Your ideal packing site would be a POD or a storage unit away from your home. You may be tempted to cram all of your stuff into your storage room in your basement, but that will tell buyers that your house doesn't have enough storage space.
Your REALTOR may ask you to pack some of your out-of-season clothes to make your closet look more spacious. Do you really need your Tommy Bahama shirts, and summer suits in your closet in the middle of winter?
Do you really need ALL of your baking pans in the kitchen cabinets right now? Store some of your baking pans and pots so your cabinets look spacious. Do you really need two sets of china in the kitchen cabinets? Can you get by with one set for a few weeks while your house is on the market for sale?
And now to the point of this post, lighting your house to sell. You want to fill your house with light when it is being shown. When you get a call from a REALTOR setting an appointment to show your home, you want ALL of your lights ON. RULE OF THUMB: If it has a light bulb, turn it on.... turn on the oven light... turn on the light above the stove.
Also, you want to have at least two (2) lamps in every room, with 75 watt bulbs in them. In larger rooms, such as the family room, three (3) lamps would be better. Builders have a formula for their model homes. They light each room with seven (7) watts per square foot.
If you have a finished basement with spotlights in the ceiling, be sure they are on, and if they are on a dimmer, be sure they are on the brightest setting. Lights on in the storage room and the utility room. Your visitors should not have to stumble into any dark space, fumbling for a light switch.
Also, put the shades UP, open the curtains, pull back the shears, and let the outside light flow inside. You have plenty of windows... use them. If you are selling your house in winter, remove the screens from the windows to let more light into your house.
I can tell you from 24 years experience, selling over 2,000 homes, that homes that are bright and airy sell fast, for top dollar, and with the fewest hassles. Isn't that what you want?
You can get a FREE home evaluation by texting or calling me at 703-677-1120. You can also get a FREE home value evaluation at my website. Find out what homes are selling for in your neighborhood.
You can also find out what homes are selling for in the neighborhood where you want to live by texting or calling me at 703-677-1120.
Erick Blackwelder
Exit Choice Realty
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