Free tips
Repairs and updates for which you will get the best return on your investment...
9x clean/declutter
6x staging!
6x lighting
5x landscaping
3x plumbing/electrical update
3x replace/shampoo carpets
2.5x interior painting
2.5x repair damaged floors
Source: HomeGain, 2009
Free stuff
Curb Appeal Yard/Outdoors
Make sure your yard is in good condition. Relative to the season, check that the lawn is cut and edged, leaves raked or snow and ice removed. Are toys, bikes and yard equipment all put away neatly? Check and fix any chipped paint or other defects in the exterior of the house.
Front porch
Here the prospective buyer may linger with the realtor as the door is opened. Do you have a nice pot or complementary pots of seasonal flowers? Is it clean? Is it clutter-free? Again, there should be no chipped paint.
Once in the house...
Entryway
Create a welcoming feel and make a good first impression by decorating the hallway. Put a silk flower arrangement and a lamp(s) or some chunky candles on your hall table. If you place your keys here, have an attractive bowl or dish. Place a nice runner or small rug on the floor. You can even light aromatic candle or the lamps. Keep it odd, in numbers at least. When you accessorize the table, remember to use an odd number of items such as three or five as the eye finds that most appealing.
De-clutter
Space sells. The more spacious the house feels, the bigger the buyer will think that it is. Achieve this feeling by de-cluttering. Take this time to get ready to move yourself. Box up unneeded items throughout your home. Don't forget the closets!! But, store the boxes off premises at a friend's or relative's home. That way, your basement or garage will not look cluttered with boxes. Pack away personal pictures.
Clean and odor-free
Make sure your home is clean the entire time it is on the market. Go through your home with the critical eye of a prospective buyer. Also, make sure your home is odor-free. Ask your realtor for his/her honest opinion. Since we live in our own homes, we generally cannot discern if it has a distinct odor, but a buyer can!
Lien and legal-free.
Make sure there are no liens on your property (for example, from a contractor you did not pay or back real estate taxes). Also, if any work was completed for which a permit was pulled, make sure the final inspection was passed and you have the paperwork.
That's entertainment
Do you seldom use your dining room? Consider that your prospect might love to entertain or just need to realize the potential of the room. Set the table with a good tablecloth and/or place settings. Use a striking color for the napkins to draw the eye to the table. Further enhance the setting with candles and a distinctive centerpiece. An asymmetric arrangement is much more interesting than is a symmetric one. But remember, no silverware as you do not want to find any missing!
Master suite
Create the sense of calm, relaxation and renewal in your master bath. You can simply set a stack of rolled, fluffy towels in a corner near the tub (or in a basket) with some aromatherapy candles and an attractive jar of bath crystals.
What can I do that will cost me a little?
Floors
If you have badly scratched hardwood floors, have them refinished.
Kitchen appliances.
Your kitchen appliances need to all match one another in color/finish. If they do not, you can order new front panels or doors. To note, your dishwasher front panel is often white on one side and black on the other side. You can simply unscrew this front panel and turn it around, if needed.
Living and dining room
Want to increase your home value by up to 10%? If your carpet is very worn, replace it with hardwood flooring. There are many options in flooring today, including 'green' options such as bamboo. If it is not so bad, just shampoo it.
Paint colors.
If you have used bold paint colors in your home, good for you! You are not afraid of color. Yet, keep in mind that your color choices may not be that of your prospective buyers. Therefore, it is best to paint those walls in a light, neutral color.
Walls
Buyers are attracted to light, airy homes. Thus, dark paneled walls can give your prospective buyer a reason to keep looking. The simple solution? Prime and paint the paneling a light, neutral color, but NOT white.
Making changes like these will give your prospective buyers the reason to end their search. They have found their new home, yours! While you will have to pay for some of these suggestions, it is better to spend a little money now and move on to your next home than to have a prospective buyer ask for thousands in price concessions and to continue to pay the mortgage and expenses for a home that no longer fits your needs and not be able to move yet.
In many cases however, extensive projects such as remodeling the entire kitchen or replacing all the windows in the house may simply not pay off.
Next Steps
Ok, if you do all that, why do you need you to stage your house?
First, if for any reason you do not want to make any of the changes yourself, Beth will do it for you! And most importantly, Beth will stage to create furniture arrangements, accented by secondary pieces of furniture, rugs, accessories, plants and art that will create a striking, visually-appealing room, maximize the room's sense of space (space sells!), emphasis the key selling points of your house and allow realtors and prospective buyers to move through your house with ease.
Beth is just a phone call away at (630) 655-9031 or a few key strokes at beth@beyondredesign.com or you can complete a request form here.
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