Home Staging: Little Changes That Help
Your Home Sell
If your home has been listed for sale on the Cary NC real estate market
-- or any real estate market for that matter -- you know that the
sluggish market has lead to even pickier buyers. On top of the overall
quality, location and price of the home, buyers will be looking at the
style, or worse yet, lack of style, of each room. A buyer that can
easily vision updating a home to their style will be more likely to make
a bid than a buyer who can't see past your existing decor. Follow these
home staging tips to make your home a more desired purchase.
Research Styles
The country style that you spent so much time perfecting may actually be
turning away potential buyers. Having too specific of a style throughout
a home can discourage viewers. Having no style, or worse yet, an empty
home, may be even worse. Buyers want to be able to envision their dream
home, which may include a different color wall, wood floors and a big
screen television.
But if they can't get past a red wall or colored carpet, a sale will
never happen. When done right, home staging allows a buyer to take
mental pictures of the way they would want the home to look. Incorporate
home staging styles that work after researching home decorating
magazines, visiting the local home decorating store, or stopping by open
houses in your neighborhood and taking notes of what did and didn't
work.
Rearrange Rooms
Does the kitchen work as your personal home office? Is the master
bedroom a maze of unused exercise equipment and knick knacks? Are your
clothes spread out across the bed because of a lack of closet space?
Turn each room into what it is actually meant to be used for. Clean out
your closets, take out any items that shouldn't be in a room, and put
out-of-place furniture and clutter in storage for the time being. Home
staging allows buyers to see the potential a room has and not be scared
that a home is too small or not laid out efficiently.
Take Down Personal Items
The extensive tea cup collection, piles of Christmas cards on display
and wall of college diplomas are impressive, but they can also make
potential buyers feel like the home is already too established. Placing
collections in storage will allow buyers to vision their belongings in
each room while not having to mentally remove yours. Home staging
doesn't require you to remove all personal items, so while it's ok to
leave up a family picture or two, don't leave up too many items that
will make buyers feel overwhelmed or unwelcome.
Cleaning Up
Dust bunnies in the corner aren't fun to clean, but potential buyers
don't want to see them either. Ensure that your home is in the cleanest
condition it's ever been in, even if that means hiring a cleaning
service. Most services have move in/move out specials that will leave
your home in viewing condition and allow you to focus on other things,
like home staging.
Don't Forget the Outside
You've spent so much time re-arranging the inside of your home that it's
easy to think all bases are covered. Wrong! Home staging includes the
outside of a home just as much as it does the inside. Make sure that the
outside of your home reflects the beauty of
Cary NC real estate. It
should be well manicured: grass cut, flowers planted, paint refreshed,
cracks filled. The first thing buyers see is the outside of the home, so
make the impression a lasting one - and a good one, at that.
Add a Personal Touch
You've taken down the wall of family pictures and put the teacup
collection in storage, but adding a personal touch can still be a great
benefit of home staging. The final step in home staging includes placing
your favorite flowers in each room or in the front entrance, playing a
soothing CD while the home is being shown, or lighting your favorite
scented candle. Little touches like these allow buyers to see the living
possibilities in your home.
By Mike Montpetit is a
Cary
NC real estate agent and founder of Town & Country Realty,
helping families buy and sell
homes in Cary NC. Susan Montpetit is a
certified home staging expert and a leading force behind the agency's
outstanding record of selling homes at 98.6% of list price in 49 days on
average.
