Get Your Home Ready to Sell! Staging Basics.

From the Real Estate Home Page

This is the fourth installment of a series of posts about how to give your home the competitive edge when you are ready to sell.

So get geared up!

1. Getting Geared Up (today's post is the 1st of 6)
2. Do the Easy Stuff First (next post)
3. Sharpen up Your Home's Curb Appeal
4. Home Staging Basics
5. Home Showing Do's and Don'ts

It's been a long time since it was harder to sell a home!

In fact you will be competing with a slew of other home sellers in the same boat. You'd better pay attention to EVERY detail that will give your home the competitive edge you absolutely need in this market.

One of the very best ways to compete is to make your home "drop-dead" gorgeous and ready to move into without the buyers having to "lift a finger" to make it move-in ready.

In the next, and final, installment, we'll share some Do's and Don'ts for showing Your Home.

So...log back in and see what's in the next post!

Now...let's talk about staging.  What is it?  Why should you care anything about it?  Here's why...

Staging allows you to make your home look like a model and "WOW" prospective buyers.  Remember, these are the buyers who were sufficiently impressed by the curb appeal to come inside for a further look.  Don't disappoint them, now!

What is staging, anyway? Staging is the process of enhancing the impression a prospective buyer has about your home.  It is all about removing things from your home that make it look smaller, drab or dated.

The key to staging is to get prospective buyers to picture themselves in the home.

You can begin by focusing on these staging basics:

DECLUTTER – Remove “you” from the home (meaning pictures and personal items). Replace personal photos with scenery or postcards. A good rule to follow is to have no more than 3 items on any surface.

Kitchen counters should have only items that "dress-up" the kitchen. And... whatever you do...take all of the magnets, photos, calendars, etc. off of the refrigerator!

NEUTRALIZE – Neutralize the rooms with light-colored paint, like creams, tans and white. Be careful with white...it can look sterile unless it is complimented by carpeting, furniture, drapery and artwork.

Keep bright colors to a minimum. Use neutral and natural colors that can work with buyers' different tastes, styles and furnishings.

KEEP IT CLEAN – Nothing sells better than a clean and well-maintained home. Always keep the home feeling and smelling clean for showings.

Here are some inexpensive updates that can make a big difference to buyers:

— New bed treatment (especially for the master bedroom)
— New towels
— Fresh paint
— Replacing old lamps or lighting fixtures

Decorating compliments Staging. The focus of decorating is to bring things into the home to make it look gorgeous. Staging involves taking things out to make it look gorgeous.

Start with these staging suggestions and talk to a real estate professional about what will give your home the "biggest bang for your buck".

Also, log in to http://www.realtor.org/. Enter "staging" in the search box and you’ll find the "Field Guide to Preparing and Staging a House For Sale". It will give you in-depth staging and curb appeal suggestions.


Kwik Kwote:  "If you believe in what you are doing, then let nothing hold you up in your work."  --Dale Carnegie

Know Your Real Estate:  "AD VALOREM TAX"...a tax based on the value of your home.  For example: If the county ad valorem tax rate is 1%, your tax will be $1.00 for every $100 dollars of your home's assessed value.

If you'd like to search for homes in the Cary-Apex-Holly Springs, NC area, take a look at Triangle Estates Realty. Or, email me at Tim@TimHaag.com. Or, for a no pressure chat, call me at 919-389-7135