STAGING BASICS

How to help buyers fall in love with your home

·          Get rid of the clutter – Pack up the figurines and school pictures.  Clear the refrigerator door of papers and magnets.  Get the appliances off the kitchen counters.  Leave only a select few things on shelves and tabletops.  This will make the house seem larger.  At the same time, reorganize your closets and kitchen cabinets.

·          Clean it up – Scrub everything as if your grandmother is arriving for a white glove inspection.  Wash windows, freshen or remove window treatments, clean upholstery and carpets.  Repair broken floor tiles and clean grout.

·          Ecru, anyone? – Paint your walls a warm neutral color.  Repair chipped baseboards, door and window frames.  Buyers don’t want homes that need work.  Only the most perfect properties change hands in this market.

·          Evict your kids – Buyers don’t want to see the kids, or their toys.  It’s best to get the kids out, remove half of the toys (the kids probably won’t notice) and keep the rest neatly stacked.

·          Rent a storage unit for your furniture – At least half of your furniture is going in it.  Leave only a sofa and a couple of side tables in main rooms.  Take away half of the chairs from your dining room table.  Get rid of dark “northern” fabrics in favor of lighter ones.  All of this will make your rooms look spacious and light-filled.

·          Clear traffic patterns – Make sure rooms and hallways are easy to walk through.

·          Enhance the view – or hide it – If you have a view, consider removing the curtains so buyers can see it.  If your view is your neighbors stained wooden fence, then shield it with sheers.

·          Light candles – Place a few candles on tables and light them during a showing.  Use a subtly scented one rather than a strong one.

·          You have 8 seconds to impress  –  Curb appeal is critical.  Paint, landscape, re-landscape, enhance your driveway, buy a new front door – whatever it takes to lure buyers out of their cars.

·          Enlist a trusted friend -  Friends will tell you the truth and won’t overlook some of the things that you might.