Staging Tips

Sherry's Secret Selling Tip "Staging" What Is It? It is NOT DECORATING!!!! Is It Worth The Investment? Everyone who has tried it says it is. The average selling price of a "STAGED" house was closer to the asking price and sold 63% faster than an unstaged house, which was on the market longer and did not bring the asking price. The "STAGED" Housesells much quicker and for more money than the unstaged house. Sherry is well known in the staging of her homes with proven results. Shery has done several model homes and continues to help her clients sell their homes in record time if they do what she instructs (all for almost zero dollars.) We use your things. Here's a few tips on how: Freshen Up The Home: painting walls a light, neutral color, such as antique white. The use of lighter colors appeal to a broader range of buyers and make the rooms look cleaner and bigger. Wash your linens for a clean fresh smell. Then before the buyers arrive, burn some potpourri, bake some cookies or fresh bread but don't try to mask a stinky house. Just make it inviting. Floor Coverings: should be kept to a minimum. Throw rugs should be taken up, they only make the house appear smaller and more cluttered. If you have hardwood floors under the carpet, you will make money by removing the carpet, even if the floor is not in perfect condition. Do you need to get that carpet cleaned or replaced? Do it now. Carpets hold all sorts of odors. Lighting: allow as much light as possible to enter your room. Open the drapes or remove unnecessary draperies, blinds, shades or other window coverings especially before a showing. Buyers are looking for a bright open feeling. Opening the drapes also makes the rooms seem larger. Make your room an extend to the outside through the window. Put the highest wattage bulb in your light fixtures that each light can handle. (Check manufactures instructions.) Turn on ALL the lights in every room. Remove the Clutter of Everyday Life: - pack up all those items you are not using and can live without for a while. The kids toys they are not playing with right now, pack them too, it will seem like Christmas when you open the box later. You are competing with model homes. The stacks of paperwork, extra toiletries, extra kitchen utensils, electronic equipment and extra television sets along with and all the family photos. Box these and store them somewhere. Remember, the buyer is looking for a bright and spacious house. Clean off that kitchen counter! Believe me you can live without it for right now. If you think of clutter as DANDRUFF that is what you are doing to your HOUSE (not your home). The house is something you are selling. Your home is a personalized touch of you that you are taking with you. Furniture: remove the furniture in each room that does not go with the decor or blocks an aisle or entry or is just making it much too crowded. You should never have to walk around furniture to get through a door or down a hall. Do not forget to clean out those closets. Box away extra clothes and keep only your seasonal clothes that your are to wear. Place Furnishings: in such a way you make the best use of space and can create an open and inviting atmosphere. A room should be balanced so people do not focus on a certain piece of furniture but rather on the room itself. Stand in the door way and see what you focus on. We want to focus on something of the HOUSE. Not what is in your home. We want to sell the house not the furnishings. Make your rooms look as big as possible. People are looking for more space than what they already have. Clean, Clean, Clean: every nook and cranny within your home should be spotless and gleaming. Even your normal weekly cleaning cannot come close to the quality of cleaning you need now to sell your house. Make those floors and faucets shine and no debris left in those sinks or in the cold air return. No one wants to buy your dirt! What price did you say you wanted for your house? We have products for all kinds of tricks to get the smells out and the crud off. You Are Almost There! Now that you have removed the clutter (dandruff) from your house, set out some nice but inexpensive accessories that will greatly elevate the value of your house. Turn on that stereo to soft calming music. Hang clean unused towels up for display. Landscape: do not go over board but make sure that your landscaping is neat, uncluttered, free of debris, bushes trimmed, and the yard is mowed. The outside of your house is critical to getting that buyer to want to see the inside. It is called curb appeal!! If they do not like the outside there is a slim to zero chance you will get them to see the inside. Landscaping provides a strong addition to the ambience you want to create. You May Want To Go On Vacation! It is not easy to sell a house and to keep it in tiptop condition. As a matter of fact it is down right nerve wracking. The house will sell for a much higher price if you can keep it from appearing disheveled. The disheveled appearance comes when you shower in the morning and cook dinner in the evening then leave without making it spotless. Being gone will lower your level of stress and make your house easier to sell. Not An Easy Task! No one said selling your house would be easy but if you do what I recommended your house will sell faster and for more money. Need help? I do this all the time and I will be glad to give you a hand or have a professional staging crew come in and do it for you when you list with me. I look forward to working together as a team to sell your house in the shortest amount of time for the most money.