In a buyer’s market with many homes to choose from on the MLS, home staging is arguably the most important thing you can do to sell your home ahead of the competition. And while hiring a professional home stager is the best way to ensure your home is primed for its absolute fullest potential, there are many things you can do on your own to make a big impact in the eyes of the buyer. Below are 10 of the best hacks to help you prepare your home for sale and make sure it’s as attractive as possible to every potential buyer.
1. KITCHENS SELL HOMES
Granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, and travertine tile are beautiful additions to kitchens, but don’t think sprucing up a kitchen has to be such a big investment. A fresh coat of paint on the walls, updated hardware, and simple faucets and fixtures on the counters can give a kitchen a major facelift. Before you replace the cabinets, consider refinishing or painting them, and add some updated hardware with a brushed nickel or bronze finish to give them a like-new look for a lot less money.
2. OUTSIDE ATTRACTION IS CRUCIAL
Your home should excite a buyer from the moment they arrive: hedges trimmed, lawns mowed, and isles of pine tended. Replace tarnished exterior sconces, doors and hardware, place showy potted plants on the steps leading up to your door, and lay out a new welcome mat to greet guests as they arrive. With over 80% of people searching the internet before stepping foot in a home, that first exterior photo that appears on the MLS is crucial in encouraging buyers to explore further.
3. BUYERS NO LONGER WANT BATHROOMS, THEY WANT SPAS
Make sure your bathroom walls are a calming color and place a stack of fluffy towels by the tub and a basket of soaps and lotions by the sink. Again, updates don’t have to cost a lot of money: consider painting or refinishing the vanity, hanging a new framed mirror, and updating faucets and light fixtures.
4. ILLUMINATE AND ILLUMINATE
Lightening and brightening is the cheapest thing you can do with the highest return on investment. Open the blinds and curtains and turn on all the lights and ceiling lamps in the house before all screenings. Do you still have those heavy window treatments you put up in the ’70s or ’80s? Roll them down and let the light in—you’re selling your windows and the view, not the walk-in closets that surround them.
5. AVOID COVERING THE WALLS WITH FURNITURE
This is one of the most constant mistakes I see when doing a staging for clients. Most rooms not only have 1 or 2 pieces that are simply not needed, but everything in the room has been pushed to the walls so there is a big, empty, unusable space in the middle! Remove sofas from the walls, remove extra furniture that doesn’t serve a necessary purpose, and allow buyers a view of the periphery of the room. This will add instant visual square footage.
6. DEPERSONALIZE
When looking for a house, the goal is to find the one you can best imagine living in. That being said, shoppers need a non-personal style and decor to feel “at home” while walking around. Take out personal photos, deer heads, or plate collections and replace them with a beautiful framed mirror or landscape piece of art. Browse the Pottery Barn and West Elm catalogs, then do your best to implement that look into your own home.
7. PAINT, PAINT, PAINT
Heavy wallpaper, nickel-plated walls, and ultra-dark or bright colors should always be covered with paint. Nothing provides an easier and less expensive facelift than a fresh coat of paint in a nice neutral color, which will curb odors at the same time. But don’t let the word neutral lure you into painting your entire house beige – the variety of colors in a natural palette will give your home an unforgettable warmth and charm. Wear colors you see in nature, such as beige, sage, soft yellow, and blue-gray. If you’re overwhelmed by the thousands of colors in small swatches at the paint store, try asking for a professionally recommended paint pallet of colors like “Paint Colors That Sell” to narrow your choices down to only the best paint colors that have been sold. proven to help. Sell houses.
8. FRESH BEDDING = MASTER BEDROOM MAKEOVER
In bedrooms, and especially the master bedroom, the bed should be an attractive and beautiful focal point that invites buyers to come in and rest. An updated bed in a bag can be purchased for $40 – $100 at TJ Maxx, Linens-N-Things, Marshalls, or Target. Shop for bedding that matches the feel and color of your room in updated patterns like jacquard or damask. Or play it safe with a chic white duvet with some throw pillows that bring color to your walls!
9. KNOW YOUR BUYER
Is your house a two-bedroom townhouse in Buckhead or a five-bedroom house on an acre in East Cobb? The location, size, and layout of your home are good indicators of who is likely to look at and eventually buy your home. Once you’ve identified your buyer, cater to them with the style of furniture, colors, and overall lifestyle that you present in the home.
10. DECIDE WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO SELL
While staging your home is necessary to ensure you get the best price as quickly as possible, you shouldn’t just stage your home, put it on the market, and then sit back and wait. You can never be sure which action will actually secure a contract, so go all out. Print your brochures in color, not black and white, and keep the box full. Make sure every inch of your home shines with every visit and that there’s a fresh scent when buyers walk in. Open your doors for an open house when you are available on Saturdays and Sundays. Email friends and family in the area with photos and specs of the home to let them know it’s on the market. Decide what you are going to sell and then do everything in your power to do so.
Good luck!