09 Jul Staging Your Home Right Means Understanding the Buyer
Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home. Home is where the heart is. Few words can conjure up as much emotion as that one simple word~~home.
When people are looking for that one place they can call home, they’re often looking for something even they can’t put their finger on. Often times the only thing they can tell you is, I’ll know it when I see it.
When selling your home, unless you understand what that elusive thing is, the point at which home searchers stop and say, yes, this is where I want to call home, then you’re missing the chance to get the most from the sale of your house.
Here, she offers some tips for you when staging your home.
The first goal most home sellers will face is the open house. It’s a big day when multiple agents bring their buyers through a home during a set time. A home seller often gets an offer from someone viewing their home during an open house. Also, it’s a good way for the seller’s agent to understand what there is about that home that either appeals to buyers or turns them off. In any case, it’s your home’s first impression on the market and just as with people, you don’t get a second chance to make a good first impression. Things you’ll want to do before that first open house are:
- Deep clean anything a buyer might see, including closets, under beds, and behind appliances.
- Remove all clutter. The buyers want to imagine what it will look like when they live there, so remove as many of your personal belongings as you can.
- Remove pets, and that includes fish, lizards, hamsters, anything that might make a prospective buyer feel uneasy.
- Minimize smells by keeping windows open for a few days ahead of time.
- Turn on all the lights, replace bulbs, open curtains, and if light fixtures are old-fashioned, consider replacing them.
Staging your home can attract more buyers to your listing, create more foot traffic coming through the door, and increase the price buyers will be willing to spend on the property. Staging is meant to showcase your home’s greatest qualities, enhance its potential for sale, impress buyers, and get the highest sales price. The right staging can connect to a buyer’s emotions, seeing the home as dream fulfillment and an improvement to their lifestyle.
Properly staging a home for sale can be the best investment a real estate seller can make. If appliances are old and out of fashion, they should be replaced. Almost always, the increased sales price will compensate for that. The same is true for the exterior of a home. A new coat of paint and professional landscaping will greatly increase curb appeal. Many homes were sold because a buyer spotted the “for sale” sign outside a house that caught their eye.
If you’re working from home, putting aside clutter may present a bigger challenge since your day-to-day operations depend on having a lot of things close at hand. Find clever ways to store all those office items in fashionable crates and bins that you can label with designer labels. Also, hide all electronic cords by tying them up or hiding them in tubes. Organizing and adding storage solutions will create a less stressful space and make your home office look professional. If a prospective home buyer is someone who plans to work from home, a well-designed home office can be a great selling point.
The time you invest in properly staging your home will never be money lost. In fact, it can mean selling your home faster and for a greater price than you ever imagined.
When you’re ready to sell your Twin Cities home, work with skilled realtor Steve Casalenda for local expertise and exceptional service. Call (612) 716-4497 today!