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John & Cindy Farrell - Coldwell Banker | Boston North Real EstateJohn & Cindy Farrell - Coldwell Banker | Boston North Real Estate

Tips for Staging Your Home to Help You Sell

Tips for Staging Your Home to Help You Sell

by Cindy Farrell / Tuesday, 23 September 2014 / Published in Selling Brief - Selling Real Estate, Staging a Home - Preparing to Sell

Staging a Home for Sale

Staging a home for saleWe can’t stress enough the importance of presenting your home in the best possible way. There are so many things that can be done to encourage a positive impression. A well thought out plan will be well worth your efforts.  It’s important to take stock of what you have and prioritize while taking into account your time frame, your goals and your resources. Listed below are suggestions.

 

  • Simplify rooms and remove as much unnecessary furniture and items as possible.
  • Remove collections and all clutter, all the paper and the “stuff”. Take almost everything off of the counter tops. Empty closets.
  • Think of highlighting the features of the house rather than the features of the things in the house. Remember you plan to move. Pack it up and either get rid of it or store it. It will make your future move easier.
  • Make sure to have all the rooms set up. If you have an office or loft you have been using to store things, get rid of the clutter and set up as a simple office or bedroom space.
  • In the bathrooms remove all the towels except fresh hand towels and all toothbrushes and toiletries from both the sinks and the shower. Make it sparkling clean. Use fresh flowers and a decorative soap dispenser on the counter instead.
  • Paint, paint paint! It’s one of the most inexpensive things you can do with the highest impact. Choose high appeal colors.
  • Attend to all the little fixes. Do all the outlets have covers? Are there holes in the walls from paintings that have been moved? Are there nicks in the wall? A broken tile? You don’t want to give the impression that the home has not been maintained.
  • Consider refinishing the wood floors and possibly removing some of the carpets.
  • Open up the windows. Clean the glass and remove or pull up all the shades. Let the light in.
  • Add lighting and turn it all on. Add more lighting than you think you need. Change to higher wattage bulbs. Make sure you have the same bulbs for the recessed lighting in each room.
  • The front yard should look it’s best. It will often determine whether or not the potential buyes will go inside. Your home will be featured online. Many buyers will look at the photos and drive by and then decide whether to make an appointment.

  • An impression will be made as soon as they get to the house and walk in the front door. Make sure it’s a good one. It will be hard to overcome an initial bad impression.
  • Remove all evidence of pets and distractions. Some people will be disturbed  by your dog barking and jumping on them when they enter the house. (Remember first impressions) And those that will welcome it because they love your dog will be distracted from looking at the house and will give their attention to the dog. Cat litter boxes can be seen as clutter and they can smell. Take them out or hide them from the showings.
  • Do not light scented candles, use plug ins or spray any air fresheners. Although there are people that like these things, there are many that don’t and some that are allergic to them. That person may be the best buyer for your home. Avoiding these negative reactions far out way any benefits of using the candles and sprays. A clean home while being careful with the heavily scented cleansers, and fresh air should be enough. Fresh baked cookies or bread or spices simmering on the stove can fill the air with with a welcomed scent if you feel you need to add something.
  • Make each room flow into another. Your eyes should land pleasantly in the neighboring rooms as you look through doorways. Don’t look at each room separately.  If you have outdoor space a patio or deck make the rooms flow into the outdoors. Set the outdoor space up with tables and or seating areas. Use color to draw your eyes out. Umbrellas, cushions and pillows are things that can work well.
  • Don’t depersonalize to the point where it no longer feels like a home.
  • Don’t fill your home with knick knacks. You have just taken the time to declutter your home, don’t refill it with clutter!
  • Consider hiring a professional – Take care in the interviewing and hiring and ask to see some of their work. Like real estate agents they are not all alike! We can help you decide whether to take this route and what areas of focus should be taken.
  • Prepare your home for the real estate photos

Staging is different than decorating and selling is different than living in a home. We can assist you with some personal staging tips and give you our thoughts on how to start the process. We can make recommendations on the extent to which we think you should put your efforts and help you prioritize. Even if you are great at arranging & designing living space, having someone that has extensive home sales experience and doesn’t live in the home is a benefit. We will  have a different perspective. You can then put your efforts in the right places. Every home is different and needs to be prepared for a sale in a different way.

Contact John & Cindy Farrell to help you early in the process.  978-468-9576.

HGTV – Has  a lot of information and ideas.

Originally posted July 19, 2012 – Edited September 23, 2014

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Tagged under: Selling Real Estate, Staging your home

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15 Comments to “ Tips for Staging Your Home to Help You Sell”

  1. What Should You Do With Your Valuables? « Boston North Real Estate says :
    September 1, 2012 at 7:06 am

    […] in it as usual. The general public will be invited to walk through your home. You are selling, stage your house to sell and remove all the valuables! The goal is to position your home correctly and have it sold quickly. […]

  2. Prepare Your Home For Real Estate Photos « Boston North Real Estate says :
    October 16, 2012 at 4:32 pm

    […] you have organized your belongings and then staged your home you are not finished getting ready to put your home on the market. It’s important to take […]

  3. Selling your Home in the Winter on the North Shore « Boston North Real Estate says :
    February 6, 2013 at 5:07 pm

    […] so dark so early. There is a lot you can do and  it will really make a difference. Remember staging your home is very important. Below are just a few suggestions that can make your home […]

  4. Selling a Vacation Home or Summer Home on the North Shore « Boston North Real Estate says :
    February 18, 2013 at 3:15 pm

    […] winter and very early spring is the time to prepare your home for sale and we can help guide you early in the process so that your time and resources will be well spent. […]

  5. Competing Offers in a Seller’s Market – When you are the seller « Boston North Real Estate says :
    July 15, 2013 at 12:43 pm

    […] Staging – What is recommended and why? […]

  6. Take that staging further « Boston North Real Estate says :
    August 12, 2013 at 11:29 am

    […] you have done the initial staging of your home and prepared it for photos the next step is to get ready for the showings. Once people are in your […]

  7. Staging Your Home in the Winter « John & Cindy Farrell – Coldwell Banker | Boston North Real Estate says :
    December 13, 2013 at 2:29 pm

    […] way you prepare and stage your home varies depending on what season it is. In addition to the suggestions we give you for generally […]

  8. Selling Your Home? Put Things in Storage. « John & Cindy Farrell – Coldwell Banker | Boston North Real Estate says :
    January 14, 2014 at 2:32 pm

    […] We are able to recommend other professionals that can assist as well. After this you are ready for staging and can prepare your home for […]

  9. Get Ready ! It’s Open House Time! – Here is a list of suggestions to help you prepare. « John & Cindy Farrell – Coldwell Banker | Boston North Real Estate says :
    January 27, 2014 at 11:54 am

    […] having a party in your home. Plan for groups of people to be there at the same time. After you have staged your home and prepared it for the photos there is more you should do to get it ready for the open house. […]

  10. A list of 5 tasks to complete while preparing your home for sale « John & Cindy Farrell – Coldwell Banker | Boston North Real Estate says :
    July 21, 2014 at 7:00 am

    […] move to your next home much easier. After you have done all the cleaning and preparing, move on to staging your home. At last you are ready to prepare for the real estate […]

  11. Remove Seasonal Decorations for Your Real Estate Photos – John & Cindy Farrell – Coldwell Banker | Boston North Real Estate says :
    October 21, 2014 at 3:45 pm

    […] our recommendations for staging and preparing your home for photos […]

  12. “Do we need to clean up the garage when we put our home on the market?” – John & Cindy Farrell – Coldwell Banker | Boston North Real Estate says :
    December 14, 2014 at 10:01 am

    […] even look at a house if it doesn’t have a garage. As you are prioritizing, getting ready, staging, and preparing for photos, consider taking the garage to the next […]

  13. Nails, Picture Hangers and Real Estate Sales – John & Cindy Farrell – Coldwell Banker | Boston North Real Estate says :
    March 6, 2015 at 12:46 pm

    […] Sellers: In the process of getting your home ready to put on the market we recommend editing and staging to make your home look and feel the best it can. This includes removing, organizing, streamlining […]

  14. Don’t overlook! 10 Things To Clean Right Before Your Home Goes On The Market. – John & Cindy Farrell – Coldwell Banker | Boston North Real Estate says :
    October 19, 2015 at 1:52 pm

    […] on and discarding the things that won’t be going with you to your new home. Then on to the staging of your home. Additional preparation for the photos is needed, an additional step after the staging. The […]

  15. Curb Appeal and First Impressions When Selling a Home – John & Cindy Farrell – Coldwell Banker | Boston North Real Estate says :
    October 29, 2015 at 11:44 am

    […] It’s important to pay attention to the curb appeal, your online presentation, both with photos and listing detail, and staging the living space. […]

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