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One of the truths of home selling is that potential buyers do not see your home as you see it. Over the time you have lived in your home, you have added your personal touches to transfer a building into a home. Not all buyers will appreciate your personal touches. They need to see the possibilities of adding their own personal touches to make your house feel like their home.
"Home Staging" is the process of making your home attractive to potential buyers. Staged homes sell quicker and they sell at a higher price.
Below are some of the Home Stagers we suggest you consider.
Michael Wetli, ASID with "Stage That", 615-218-1753, www.stagethat.net
Michael and his partner Matt Shaffer offer a wide range of services in addition to Home Staging including Design consulting, Furniture Rental, and Custom Foral design. |
Other Pages for the Home Seller
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There is an advantage to having your home inspected prior to being listed. This allows you to make the repairs necessary to effectively present your home and it reduces the possibility something wrong might be found by the buyer's home inspection.
Dave Weselle , Step1 Home Inspections, 615-720-5979, www.step-1-home-inspections.com
Dave and his team will find the problem areas in your home during a pre-listing inspection and will make specialists available to correct the problems.
Tim Hicks, The Home Inspection Team, 615-469-1236, www.tnhomeinspector.com
Tim has years of experience in the business and understands the inspection process.
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Two Myths About Selling Your Home
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There are very few things a seller can control about their home other than price. Two of those are the condition of the home inside and out. These two myths discuss the condition of your home.
#1 Myth: Once potential buyers see the inside of your home, curb appeal won't matter.
Truth: The first decision buyers make, often before they think of price, is the area or neighborhood in which they want to live. You can't do anything about the neighborhood where your home is located, but you have a lot of control once potential buyers decide they like your specific neighborhood.
The truth is buyers probably won't make it to the inside of your home if the outside does not appeal to them. Many buyers drive by a home before deciding whether or not to look inside. Your home's exterior will have less than a minute to make a good first impression. I have heard buyers say, "If they don't care about the outside, they probably don't care about the inside." Ouch!
Spruce up the lawn, trim shrubs and trees, and weed the garden. Clear the walkways and driveways of leaves and other debris. Remove kid's toys, lawn mowers, put trash cans out of sight. Repair gutters and eaves, touch up the exterior paint and repair or resurface cracked driveways and sidewalks. Paint the front door, place potted flowers out front, hang a wreath on the door and put out a pleasing welcome mat for added curb appeal.
It's not fair, but the outside packaging is the magnet that draws potential buyers inside to see your beautiful home.
#2 Myth: Once potential buyers fall in love with the exterior look of your home, you put interior improvements on the back burner.
Truth: Have you ever seen a movie trailer and thought, "That looks like a good movie, I believe I'll see it.", only to leave the movie later completely disappointed? A beautiful exterior promises a beautiful interior of equal quality. If buyers walk in the front door and are presented with an interior that doesn't live up to the expectations created by the exterior, they will be disappointed and sometimes offended. Buyers have no qualms about walking right out the front door within 60 seconds if the house doesn't compare to the quality of the exterior.
Unfortunately for sellers, it is suicide to forget either the exterior or the interior; both are important. Part of our responsibility is to assist you in making your home as attractive as possible to potential buyers. Sometimes this involves hard decisions like removing personal pictures and family bric-brac that you have added to make it your home. We want potential buyers to see your home as their home. We want them to mentally add their personal touches.
To assist in this process, we often recommend a professional home stager to look at and advise us on the proper presentation of your home.
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Great Staging Tips From Lowe's and HGTV
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Tips to Prepare your Home to Sell
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This has been borrowed from the Lowe's material below. It is a great summary of their advise.
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First impressions count. Roll out the red carpet for potential homebuyers by sprucing up your entryways, especially the one on a lockbox. Welcome mats, planters filled with seasonal flowers, and clutter-free foyers and hallways set the stage.
Sell the space, not your stuff. Remember that the goal of a successful showing is to make a prospect feel at home – like it’s theirs, not yours. Put away your extensive personal collections. Less is more: open up your space so prospects can actually see what they’re buying.
Paint and elbow grease work wonders. Fresh paint and a thorough cleaning will give you the greatest “bang for your buck.” Remember that neutral walls are your best bet when staging a home for sale. Lowe’s has all the right shades to make your home more inviting. Check out Lowes.com for fun tools like the Paint Visualizer.
Go with the flow. Arrange furniture for easy traffic flow. Consider placing a major piece of furniture at an angle, such as a couch or desk. Angles add interest and can create a more open feel.
See the light. Move lamps to dark corners and arrange window treatments so that natural light floods your rooms. Brighter is better, and your rooms will look larger. Visit Lowe’s extensive lighting section for the latest in fashionable, functional lighting.
Go green. Live plants can add decorative flair, without spending a bundle. Plants and cut flowers have a way of warming up a room.
Don’t forget the outdoors, especially this time of year. If you have a porch, deck or patio, clean the furniture and replace worn cushions. Breathe new life into your deck with a fresh finish; Lowe’s has a variety of deck staining and sealing products that are easy to apply.
Make the kitchen sparkle. De-clutter the countertops by removing toasters, food processors and other non-decorative items. If you have a breakfast table or counter, put out a couple of table settings complete with place mats, napkins and dinnerware.
Warm up an empty home. If your home is vacant, consider renting furniture for key rooms, but don’t go overboard. Ask your real estate professional for advice, based on your home’s unique features and selling points. | |
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