Home staging is preparing your home for sale by spending a little time and effort to make your home more of a presentation to potential buyers. It can mean the difference between selling your home or becoming an expired listing. Staging can often increase the price of your home, with sellers estimated to sell 7-10% more when your home is staged.
However, remodeling is a more expensive route, and sometimes necessary. Kitchens are often the most expensive room in the house to remodel. A homeowner can spend between $35,000 and $80,000 to remodel the kitchen depending on her vision, the size of the kitchen, and the original value/type of the home. The staging of a living room is very important, as it must allow potential buyers to visualize themselves in that room. Buyers tend to buy on emotion rather than logical thinking. You need to depersonalize the room like you do bedrooms too.
The overall goal of home staging is to improve the appearance of the home for buyers and sell it quickly for the best price so you can get on with all the necessary packing as you head into a new chapter in your life. Think about it, when he bought his house, do you remember the houses he saw? Think about how they were introduced to you and why the house you envisioned stood out enough for you to fall in love with and buy it. The house was probably staged and well maintained. Clean and tidy, allowing you to imagine yourself living there. Remember, your real estate agent can direct you to a home stager he or she trusts to get the job done right!
These are some of the benefits of Home Staging:
1. Staging can sell your house faster and take it off the market. The longer your home is on the market, the less attractive it becomes to potential buyers.
2. It allows you to think like a shopper again
3. Your packing process is now halfway done, as you’ve cleared your home and packed up all the things you don’t need for immediate use before your big move.
4. You can increase the value of your home!
Let’s stage
Let’s start with the exterior first. Buyers will see the exterior of your home first, so make sure the exterior of your home makes a good impression on them. If they are immediately impressed, they will walk into your home with a positive outlook!
1. Make sure your entrance is clear, clean and welcoming.
2. Beware of peeling paint.
3. Remove and replace old curtains on windows
4. Keep grass trimmed and edged well.
5. Add mulch to your flower beds as it adds great appeal
6. Keep your yard clean and well-cared for.
7. Choose warm, inviting colors for your yard to calm potential buyers as they arrive.
8. If you have a porch large enough to accommodate a chair or two, perhaps add a bench with a small table to allow shoppers to imagine sitting and relaxing.
OK now to the kitchen!
Kitchens have now become the most important room for potential buyers and are no longer seen as just the room to cook and prepare food before entering the dining room or family room to eat. Make sure you put adequate time and effort into your cooking. If you organize your kitchen correctly, you’ll be amazed at how beautiful it will turn out no matter how old your home is, keeping you from spending those thousands of dollars on remodels.
1. Arrange some beautiful flowers or plants on the countertop
1. If you have a small eat-in kitchen, reduce the size of your table and chairs to make the area appear larger.
2. Arrange books, colorful plates, wine glasses, or knick-knacks in small, odd numbers on any wall shelves or glass cabinets you have.
3. Place large bowls of fruit on the counter in a colorful glass container that flows with the color scheme of the kitchen and the tablecloths or clothing, if applicable.
4. If necessary, make updates. Upgrade to stainless steel kitchen appliances. Think of yourself as the buyer. What would you like? If your cabinets are outdated, don’t even consider leaving them as is. Try a new paint/stain job or all new cabinets if the old ones can’t be saved.
5. Update your kitchen faucets and light fixtures.
6. Consider adding a backsplash if there isn’t one.
7. Don’t block the windows, open the curtains and let the light in.
Living room staging
1. If your living room is small, bring in smaller sofas and chairs to make the room feel bigger.
2. Tidy up any bookshelves and replace them with books, figurines, and knick-knacks.
3. Hide all exposed wiring from your electronic devices.
4. Accent the fireplace with a large piece of art or a beautiful framed mirror.
5. Oversized pillows and throws for the furniture are a lovely warm touch.
6. Bring in plants to give the room a warm, earthy feel. Everyone loves nature.
7. Update your curtains if necessary.
8. Put furniture covers on your diapers if they’re outdated.
9. Don’t block the windows, open the curtains and let the light in.
10. Add a rug for texture and design.
11. Use bright, attractive colors!
12. Eliminate family photos to depersonalize the home for prospective buyers.
Staging of the bedrooms
These same rules apply to your bedrooms as well. Clutter, depersonalize and keep the room neat and clean. Arrange the furniture in a way that leaves the room spacious. Repaint or replace worn furniture. Update your bedding and add extra pillows to your bed! Arrange a few small items to display on the furniture like a small lamp and a book with a bookmark directly under the lamp.
Remember, your real estate agent can direct you to a home stager he or she trusts to get the job done right!
Bathroom staging
Like kitchens, bathrooms are considered expensive spaces to fix up. If buyers don’t see a bathroom they like or that’s up to date, they’ll see it as a big physical and financial job. So, as you now see, it is very important to pay special attention to your bedrooms when you sell your house.
1. Keep the bathroom extremely clean, cleaner than clean. Nobody likes to see a used service bathroom. No potential buyer will look past that to picture them there.
2. Clean dressers, cabinets, and sinks.
3. If the tiles are still in good condition, clean them thoroughly to remove any accumulated dirt. Make sure the grout is clean, and if it can’t be cleaned, hire a tile setter to re-lay the tiles to make them look like new again.
4. Update your faucets and if the mirror on the wall is removable, update that too.
5. If cabinets are worn, repaint or replace them.
6. If your floor tiles are worn, cracked, and just not working, GET NEW TILES! It is not worth prolonging the listing until it cools down and expires. Trust your real estate agent when you come to your home for a tour. If they give you any advice, take it with a grain of salt and listen. Trust me they have the best intentions for you to sell your house fast.
7. Think candles and scents. Make your bathroom smell aromatic to add to the feeling of cleanliness.
If you have some money to spare, invest in the bathroom. A smart investment is a jacuzzi. Try to make the place look luxurious and elegant like an expensive hotel!
So follow these tips and you should sell your house pretty fast. Remember, you have two main selling points in your home and those are your kitchen and your bathrooms. If these rooms don’t measure up, you risk staying on the market for a long time or worse, having the listing expire. Again, talk to your real estate agent about home staging because they know what to do to sell your home fast.
As your Whitby real estate agent, I offer your consultation with a reputable home stager free of charge upon signing a listing agreement. It is what you have read above, it is a key part of selling your home. Remember that staging costs about 1% of your home’s value and can generate a return of up to 10%!
Your Ajax Whitby Real Estate Sales Representative
Molena Gould