Home Buying for Less Real Estate Blog

The Final “R”s of Home Staging - REPAINT and REARRANGE

November 11th, 2009

You’ve taken the first big steps in staging your home to sell. Your de-cluttered house now looks and smells clean and you’re ready to update your home with the final “R”s of home staging: Refreshing your home with some creative rearranging and possibly new paint for the most appeal.

REPAINT

· Start with the front entrance: if your front door is painted and doesn’t look great, give it a new coat. This first impression counts a great deal and sets the tone for the entire home.

· If walls or doors have non-removable stains or scuffs, consider repainting them. Buyers will be adding up all these “to-do” jobs as they view your home! You can choose a neutral color; however, sometimes adding a splash of color can really add some pizzazz – just don’t be too bold.

· Remember the mailbox and post!

REARRANGE

· Take a walk around and ensure that your furniture provides good traffic flow and conversation areas. If you need to create areas for conversation, try grouping furniture in front of a fireplace or other focal point. Watch for ‘bottlenecks’ that slow traffic as you move through your house -if you need to squeeze by a large piece of furniture to get to another room, re-locate or remove it. Remember, less is more.

· Stage the major rooms in your house for their intended purpose. If you use your dining room as an office, for example, now is the time to clear out the computer and set the table.

· Consider creating ‘fantasy spaces’ in unused areas of your house. Position a comfortable chair and reading lamp by a window, for example, even if you only use the space for storage. The idea is to make potential buyers “see” themselves living a pleasant life in their new home. Remember, when you’re trying to sell, it’s not about you and your personal preferences anymore - it’s what appeals to the most potential buyers.

These are basic steps to make any home more appealing to buyers. If you are ready to sell your home, the professionals at HomeBuyingForLess are ready to walk you through the process. Call us at 1-888-201-8565.

: Steve Doyle, CEO and Head Broker

: Lisa Doyle

: Hill Matthews

: Lia Baras

Tags: Add new tag, Home Selling Tips, home staging, preparing your home to sell
Posted in Home Selling Tips | No Comments »

The First “R” in Home Staging - REMOVE

October 21st, 2009

Once you have decided it is time to sell your home, the most important and least expensive thing you can do to prepare your house for market is to de-clutter and clean up. When we work with our sellers on staging a home, we first try to consider the obvious and least expensive route. An uncluttered home that looks and smells clean is a perfect first start! Thus the first “R” in home staging is REMOVE.

Removing Clutter

LESS IS MORE! Rooms with too much clutter look smaller and un-inviting. Sell, donate, or pack things up now. This is one of the most important improvements you can make. Here’s how:

· Remove up to half of the books from over-stuffed bookshelves. Also remove extras in the kitchen cabinets, pantry and all closets. Do the same with extra furniture…it makes any room look too small and distracts the buyers. Toys…time to donate, sell, or toss the “unpopular toys”. Leave only a few containers at a time; store the rest. Rotating them every few weeks will make them seem like “new” toys! In general—if you find that you’re planning on keeping more than you can display, store them in the attic/basement, rent a storage unit or ask family/friends to store them until you sell.

· Remove personal photos so that they do not decorate most wall spaces. Sure it is okay to have some family photos, but not on walls in virtually every room. Remove un-necessary knick-knacks…display only a few. NO magnets, photos, etc., on refrigerators! We all love displaying them, but it clutters the kitchen too much! On the counter tops—leave only the essentials that fit comfortably. Buyers love uncluttered spaces, especially in the kitchen! Stow-away small appliances in your now-half-empty cabinets(!)

Paring your personal belongings has an added bonus, too - it helps you get a head start on packing up your house to move!

Removing Dirt and Stains

Removing dirt and stains is crucial. Give your home a thorough cleaning (including carpets, flooring, windows and sills, woodwork, ceiling fans and walls, porches and decks). Kitchen and baths, especially, should be immaculate. Dust bookshelves, TVs, furniture, etc. Keep the front entrance swept and free of cobwebs, shoes, etc. Keep the lawn mowed and natural areas mulched and weed-free. If you own a pet, there should be little evidence, with no pet odors or stains.

Next we will look at the other “Rs” of home staging - refreshing your home with paint and re-arranging for the most appeal.

The real estate professionals at HomeBuyingForLess are ready to make your next move quicker and easier. Call us today at 1-888-201-8565.

: Steve Doyle, Head Broker and CEO

: Lisa Doyle

: Hill Matthews

: Lia Baras

Tags: home staging, preparing your home to sell, removing clutter
Posted in Home Selling Tips, Uncategorized | No Comments »

What is Home Staging and Why Should I Do It?

September 28th, 2009

Home staging has been called the act of preparing a home and its contents for sale or highlighting a home’s strengths and minimizing it weaknesses. By some definitions, staging and preparing a home for sale are slightly different things - one more about decorating and the other more about repairing. Either way, the goal is absolutely the same: to make your home appeal to the highest number of potential buyers. And that may mean looking at your home with new eyes.

When you become a seller, your home becomes a house, or rather a commodity, and for this you must separate yourself from your home. Removing an overabundance of personal items, reducing clutter, and adding more neutral décor is a start. It can also be helpful to ’see’ your home through the eyes of another. Invite a friend over to help look for areas that might need improvement. If there’s a problem area in your home, a friend or potential buyer will see it even if you no longer do.

Preparing your house to appeal to the largest pool of buyers will help you get the very best price for your home. And that’s where staging, in all its forms, comes in. A properly staged home leads the eye to the attractive features and attributes the property has to offer. You want your home to become a warm and welcoming product that anyone might want.

For help in transforming your home to appeal to the most buyers and in finding a new home, call the professionals at HomeBuyingForLess. Along with conventional full real estate service at unconventional discounts, we offer home staging consultation and other services. Call us today at 1-888-201-8565.

Next, we’ll look at the 3 “R”s - the basic home staging concepts that will attract the most buyers to your home.