Stage your home for a speedier sale.
Category Advice
“You never get a second chance to make a first impression” and this directly applies to selling a home. You only get one chance to ensure that your home appeals to prospective buyers. To the buyer, your house needs to look like its great value for money, therefore here are a few tips for getting your home ready for showdays:
1. Ensure that your home is in good condition
One of the first steps to staging a home is ensuring that there are no serious faults with your home. Scout your home with a critical eye and search for any cracks in the walls, leaking pipes or tears as these will immediately discourage potential buyers.
2. Clutter
Unnecessary items on tables and counters, can make rooms look smaller and untidy, which can be dissuading to potential buyers. It is therefore important to pack small appliances away into cupboards, particularly in the kitchen. Cleaner counter spaces, side tables and shelves will make your home look more refined and appealing to the buyer.
3. Furniture
Often, furniture can impact how large or small certain rooms appear to be. For instance, if you have a large couch/sofa in your living room, this could make the room appear to be smaller than it actually is. Therefore, you can make rooms seem larger by decreasing the amount and or size of the furniture within them. Alternatively, aim for small groups of furniture, to leave plenty of open spaces within the room.
4. Keep it neutral
It is also important to make your home look as depersonalized and neutral as possible, so that the buyer can picture him/herself living in the house. Painting over brightly coloured walls with neutral tones, removing family photos and items which reflect you or your family, can make a large difference from the perspective of the buyer.
5. Improve the bathroom
There are several improvements that one can make to a bathroom which are quick and inexpensive. Buy a bathroom mirror with a stylish frame and replace the light fittings with more decorative ones. You could also hire a professional to clean and ensure that your bathtubs, toilets and basins are clean, with no unappealing stains or marks.
6. Door handles
Replacing door or cupboard door handles with nicer, more modern replacements can impact the appearance of your home drastically. If your current door handles are worn out and or don’t match the style of your home, it would be beneficial to find new, ornate handles to give your home that extra charm.
7. Little details
Make your home look classier by investing in new towels, washing racks and waste baskets. The little things add up and some crisp white towels or clean, nicely designed extra’s like wastebaskets and towel racks can add to your home’s overall style and appeal.
8. A pleasant smell will make a lasting impression
Buy a room spray with a lovely fragrance and spray the rooms with it before each showing. You can also buy a fabric spray and ensure that your furniture and bed linen have a pleasing scent. This will make a difference to buyers as it adds to their senses and makes your home feel welcoming and classy.
9. Gardening and landscaping
The outside of your home will make the first impression to potential buyers and neatening up your outside area and garden can make all the difference in the world. Hire a professional landscaping service to trim and neaten up any overgrown bushes, plant some beautiful flowers and create aesthetic, stone garden paths.
10. Lighting
A home with lots of light can be more alluring to buyers as light tends to make a home seem more spacious, welcoming and most importantly, safe. Ensure that your outside area and garden are well lit by investing in outdoor lighting.
There are several, low cost improvements you can make to your home in order for it to stand out and make a prominent, lasting impression. By following these helpful tips, you should will be ready to show off your home to prospective buyers and offer them great value for money.
Author: Dormehl Property Group
