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Home Staging Tips

By Joan Patterson

Real Estate Agent with Keller Williams Realty, Luxury Home Specialist BRE#01431647

January 06, 2016 08:21 AM

Home Staging Tips

I go into homes to list them almost every day. When I do I immediately start taking notes as to what we need to do to get a seller's home ready for the market. If your home is staged properly and cleaned up, it will sell quicker than if it were not. Many buyers don't have the "vision" to see past a messy, dirty or too much work in a home.

Staging your home for a quick sale doesn't have to be stressful, but it will take some elbow grease and time. Joan Patterson (that is myself) will give you many ideas and suggestions to get your home ready to sell. We at Joan Patterson and Associates want to bring our your home's best features so that buyers will be knocking at your door with their agents to see it!

I will go with you through each room to let you know what we need to do as far as de-cluttering or making each room show off it's best attributes. We need the buyers to envision themselves to be living there. We want to make them excited about your home so that they want to write an offer!

Paint You Should Use-
Give your house neutral colors that will appeal to home buyers and give your home a calm feeling. If your walls are painted a bold or bright color, consider painting these with light tones of tan, beige or gray. Those colors encourage home buyers to envision their own personal effects and furniture fitting nicely in your home with minimal work. Buyers don't want to think they have to do a lot of work. Moving is already a lot of work for most buyers.

Kitchen-

Only a few appliances on your counters and nothing more. You could possibly add in a simple bowl of colorful fruit to introduce interest to your new neutral palette. Many times replacing or refinishing outdated cabinets can make a significant difference in how your kitchen appears to buyers. Remember to update cabinet hardware, as well. If you have older appliances, replacing them is worth the investment.

Dining Room-
Remove any bold finishings or heavy accessories. Clear out clutter but dress your dining table with simple, inviting place settings. An uncomplicated centerpiece and updated light fixture can complete the table. Remove any oversized furniture that might make the room appear small such as a large china hutch or sideboard. You can put these in the garage perhaps? Or even a storage unit.

All other living areas-
Take down any personal photographs, anything personal. The buyers may not like your stuffed deer head for example either. Think of your home as a buyer would. Take off your seller hat and pretend you are a buyer. How would you like your home for the first time walking in?

Bathrooms-
Make every fixture in your bathroom sparkle. Make sure it is super clean.. If tile grout is still not clean, get a grout stain or hire a professional to clean it. Bathrooms and kitchens need to shine!

Walk through-

You may want to walk through your home and see what you think, or call me back for my opinion. You can also call a friend. Or, hire a professional stager of which I do know a few of these as well. You can have your home staged with your furniture or perhaps theirs. It all depends on the condition of your current furnture.

I would highly suggest to hire a professional cleaning service to help make your home shine. After all, when I go to sell a car, I hire a professional detailer who makes it look good as new. That is what a team of professionals can do to make your home shine for selling. Give me a call today so I can help you get your home ready to sell! A clean home and a well staged home can bring in more money for you! Give me a call and let's get to work!