Sell Your Home Quickly - Staging

Realtors will give you many dos and don’ts when they are listing your home for a quick sale, but planning ahead, and staging your home for a quick house sale is very beneficial.

Selling a home as is will probably not net you the amount you think your home is worth. It is a good idea to go look at some model homes in your price range, as that will give you some good ideas about decorating.

I have a friend that recently listed her home after having it staged, and it sold the second day on the market. The market here in Jacksonville is still behind many areas of the country and selling your home on the second day is very rare. There are professional stagers which are reasonably priced, and they can be a great source of suggestions, often using items you already own but rearranging them.

You can choose to do major upgrades in your kitchen or bathroom if necessary and will probably recoup that money in a sale. Kitchens are quite often a major selling point in a home sale, however, first things first. Here are some basic tips to get your home ready for the upcoming sale.

If remodeling a kitchen is not possible, you may be able to re-surface the counter tops or do some refinishing work on your cabinets. Even replacing old knobs and handles on the cabinets and drawers often sparks up the look in your kitchen. Arranging items in your cabinet to make them look more spacious is advisable.

The bathroom counter tops should not have electric toothbrushes, cosmetics or other personal items. Use your cabinets for these items. Things that look attractive in a bathroom are guest towels tied with ribbons, small scented soaps or a small colorful plant

The first impression of your home is obviously the front yard and the home entrance. The lawn should be in good shape, cut and edged with some attractive foliage and fresh mulch, if possible.

Your home entrance should have a light and airy feel. Use neutral colors and make the first view into your home one that is pleasing to the eye. Get rid of throw rugs. You want your home to look spacious as well.

A dirty home is a major turnoff to any buyer. Buyers will come into your home and see all the work they will have to do in order to get the house ready to move in. Cleaning your home includes steam cleaning tile and grout, shampooing carpets, cleaning windows, and closets to name just a few things. Sometimes hiring a cleaning service is the best choice.

Odors are also a major turnoff, especially in the kitchen. Moreover, if you are a smoker, remove all ashtrays from thehouse before buyers come inside. Living rooms sometimes smell the worst due to smoke. Clean curtains, carpet and furniture will help get the cigarette smoke out of the house. I would suggest that you smoke on the back porch or in the garage until the house is sold. It is a good idea to bake cookies before a buyer comes, as that is a smell almost everyone likes.

It is very important to de-personalize and de-clutter your home. Some people temporarily rent a storage shed to house numerous things that should be removed from the house. If there is too much furniture in a room, put some in storage so the buyer can appreciate the square footage of the house

Remove personal pictures from the walls. Remove excess knick knacks. Use art pictures instead and the rule of three is always good, for example 1 larger and 2 smaller pictures grouped together at eye level.

• Clear off all the items that are on your refrigerator being held with magnets and the top also.
• Clear off the counter tops, leaving just a couple of small appliances like a toaster.
• If your appliances are very outdated, they should also be replaced.
• Use attractive house plants and fresh flowers if possible. Get rid of unattractive plants. Silk flowers are a better choice in that case.
• Leave all your lights on, just like they do in model homes.
• If you have pets, particularly dogs, it is important to make sure they are not in the house when realtors bring clients. Pick their feeding dishes up off the floor for that time period.
• A strategically placed mirror is a good idea so the buyers see themselves in the home, rather than pictures of your family, which sometimes distracts the buyers from looking at your home.

Closets should look half full and the closet floor should be empty. That sounds like a difficult task for many of us, but that is where the storage rental might come in handy for things like luggage, etc.

Book shelves should also follow the rule of thirds, with 1/3^rd being books, 1/3^rd vases and pictures and 1/3^rd empty.

Don’t forget about the backyard as you want it to be a place where people might enjoy sitting out and also attractive plants in colorful pots are very attractive. The back yard is also of interest to families that are looking for a nice play area for their children.

Last, but not least, clean up your garage. If you have so much junk in your garage that you can no longer park your car inside it is time to get rid of some things or put them in storage. Seeing a car parked in the garage along with tools and lawn equipment put away neatly is all it takes.

In conclusion, find a realtor that sells frequently in your area, and it helps to talk to neighbors as they might know the sale prices of recent homes purchased. Do not misrepresent your home on the listing because if buyer arrive and does not see what has been advertised, they will not buy your home. Stage the home before the realtor takes pictures and you will probably enjoy a quick sale if your house is priced correctly.